Milk

“Without hope, life’s not worth living”

The life of a legendary activist creates a story from which we can all learn a bit.

I battled the tunnel traffic and the mercilessly uncomfortable seats in the Naro Expanded Cinema to see Milk, Gus Van Sant’s biopic about the political life of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected to a major office. Although it was a very (physically) uncomfortable experience, I found the film to be, on the whole, enjoyable.

I hate to say it, but I try to be honest, so I will admit it – Sean Penn did a good job. He deserves an Oscar nomination, and, although I will probably be rooting for Mickey Rourke, Penn would not be undeserving of a win. Josh Brolin was also excellent in his role as Dan White, Milk’s assassin. Other than that, there are no real standout performances, although the cast as a whole works well together.

I liked that the film had a message of tolerance. Although the film revolves around mostly gay characters, the film doesn’t feel like a militant gay film. The juxtaposition of the plot development with Harvey Milk recording a final memoir in anticipation for assassination enhanced the message of the film. In all, it was powerful, and it far outweighs both the nitpickly and legitimates criticisms of the film.

In the film, character development was generally poor, aside the title character. It wasn’t such a major problem, but I would’ve liked to have seen more character complexity in the characters played by James Franco and Emile Hirsch. The character played by Diego Luna seemed very forced, if not unnecessary. Finally, although the character was very well played, I would’ve liked to have seen more of Dan White. I feel like his character was simplified too far, and better character development would’ve made this film a near slam dunk. Also – nitpicky – the assassination scene was a bit melodramatic. A more mysterious one may have had a better effect.

The film’s message was powerful – one would have to see it to feel it. The acting was well done, and, despite the film’s shortcomings, I found it to be more than satisfactory. I give it a B.