Milk

Title: Milk
Rating: 3.5/5
Genre: Drama, Biography
Starring: Sean Penn, Emile Hursch
Director: Gus Van Sant

Van Sant is one of those few directors who not only takes his stories from the real world, but often doesn't do a bad job of it; if not amongst the best I have nothing but respect for the manner in which he deals with his subject matter. Even when broaching the most delicate topics he never creates an unjust portrayal of the characters, always remaining as faithful to the actual events with a minimum of embellishment, using stories that are inherently turbulent enough so as to be powerful enough in their own right. Following the story of Harvey Milk, a homosexual man who's mid life crisis sends him hurtling into a world of political activism, he becomes elected as the first openly homosexual man in public office, and being set in San Francisco during the 1970s its not much of a leap to see just how controversial this was at the time.

Sadly it feels incomplete and muddled, trying to get through 8 intense political years of a man's life whilst retaining the flow and progression is no easy feat and sadly not one he excels at here; for all the highs and lows the tension remains remarkably flat and it never feels like its really building up to anything, instead just plodding along at a leisurely pace, even right up to what should have been a climactic, traumatic and powerful denouement. Even his usual fierce devotion to historical accuracy has been trumped by the film on which much of this is based, “The Life and Times of Harvey Milk,” which takes greater advantage of the format at its disposal to fully explore a broader take on his life and influence, as opposed to maintaining a rigid singular perspective.

Despite these oversights its no reflection on the cast themselves who succeed in defying all expectations. Not in the least the lead in Penn who I've often noted as something of a tough character, succeeds in tackling an altogether different role, convincingly shedding his tough exterior for a gentle physicality, genuinely taking on board the man's persona and mannerisms and executing them without ever taking it to parodical proportions. The large support cast succeeded in flitting in and out of his life, constantly providing a backdrop through each stage of his career but were largely overshadowed by the focus on Milk, sadly not letting us know more than the bare minimum about those that stood behind him.

Every film I have seen from this director has foretold of an epic masterpiece in the making; a “Der Untergang” level of a bold statement within a film but sadly this is not to be it, and after the disappointing “Elephant” and under-performing “Paranoid Park” I'm starting to question if he'll break through this plateau of unrealised promises. More than just a display of one man's struggle for equal rights; than just a piece showing the origins of the gay rights movement, this is a film that succeeds in reflecting upon how far society has come, and yet also how far it has yet to go.