Review of Milk (1998) by Joshua D — 25 Jul 2015

Though I have only seen 3 of his films, Gus Van Sant seems to be a mastermind at bringing characters to life in his films. The 3 I have seen are this, Good Will Hunting, and Elephant, and I honestly can't say which of the three is my favorite; they are all so good. With Milk, Gus Van Sant motivates and inspires the audience with a message of hope, and though the events of the film are from the late 70s, the issues are more relevant now that we are in the middle of fighting for gay marriage rights and the U.S. is less populated with homophobes. Here is a film which was better than the best picture winner of its year: Slumdog Millionaire.

First of all, do not be afraid to see sexual scenes between men in this movie; the only scene which is almost explicit is very darkly lit and hard to see. While the film has moments depicting homosexuality, it does this to show the characters in this film who are fighting for their rights are caring, loving people who deserve to be treated as human beings. It is rather sad to watch scenes in which it is explained or almost shown that homosexuals are getting beaten to death by police.

Penn is miraculous in this film, and honestly even though James Franco is not a marvelous actor overall, he also does a pretty good job with his performance in this film. Penn steals the show though, rightfully winning an Oscar by immersing himself in this character that not only has a different sexual orientation as the actor, but also experienced his 40s in a very different time period. He is a character so loving that even when his friends question his romantic interest with a character named Jack, he defends himself by saying Jack needs him and he is willing to care for Jack even though he is not "all right" mentally. It is devastating to see Jack go in this film, though it feels more suitable that Milk is with Scott, the James Franco character. The only thing I didn't care for in the way that Milk was depicted is that at times he seemed interested in other men while in a relationship with another person, and little reason was given to this portrayal beside the fact that the man was gay, which is not how it works at all.

One thing which was a little unclear to me while watching this film was Dan White's feud with Milk; it was clear they made a deal to swap votes for each other, but it was hard to pick up on what White wanted Milk to vote for - this is probably my fault as I should have paid more careful attention. When I read that it was about having a psychiatric hospital in White's district I thought the issue could have been more dramatic, but this is a film based on real events, and when a film is going for an important historical feel, it seems right to keep the story accurate.

Seeing this film makes me want to fight for gay rights and I am extremely proud to say that. Milk states in the film though that it is not just about homosexuals, but about other ethnicities as well - nobody should be discriminated against when it comes to civil rights. The last line of the film is one which is repeated throughout the movie, and while it is a simple line, Penn seems to give it great meaning with the way he says it into the tape recorder which is essentially the vehicle of narration for the film.