The last movie I saw Sean Penn in was "All the Kings Men." It was a flat out terrible and boring movie about a populist politician that gains power in a rough place only to be assassinated at the end. Supposedly it was based on the career of the real life politician Huey Long. That was early 2006. Sean Penn hasn't been in a movie since. Now he's in Milk, a movie about a populist politician that gains power in a rough place only to be assassinated at the end. It's based on the career of real life politician Harvey Milk. The main difference is that this movie isn't one of the worst of the year, it is one of the best.
I had an awesome time at this movie. More than anything it made me want to go out and become a city supervisor. Not to be involved in the gay rights crusade, but simply to get involved in politics at a local level. That's where the action takes place you know, whether its quelling riots or simply getting the dog shit off the ground. The triumph of this movie is that it transcends a stigma of simply being pro-gay and tells, I think, a universal story of a community forming together and asserting themselves in the political process. It's a great movie about democracy and a savvy politician who used the system to help better the lives of his constituents.
Sean Penn is getting huge buzz for his performance and he deserves it. He is virtually unrecognizable in this film. When I think of Sean Penn I think of the murderer in 'Dead Man Walking' or the gangster in 'Mystic River.' I would never have thought that he would be perfectly cast as a flamboyantly gay politician. He is so good in this movie that half way through I forgot about how good he was and just looked at the character as Harvey Milk. Sean Penn has a stamp on this guy. Just like Mozart, Elizabeth I, and Marie Antoinette, Harvey Milk is no longer public domain. He is owned by Sean Penn. This is one of the best performances of the year.
Shadowed by Penn is a bevy of other great performances. The two most notable are Emile Hirsch as Cleve Jones, one of Milk's subordinates. and a stunning turn for Josh Brolin, as the Conservative Catholic Dan White, one of Milk's fellow city supervisors and his eventual assassin. Brolin's performance is on the heels of two other notable ones in 'W.' and 'No Country for Old Men.' That makes a hat trick of good roles. He's been having quite the year and a half. In this one he thankfully gives us a better excuse for White's behavior than eating too many twinkies. Its an empathetic portrait of a man who finds himself caught in a dramatically changing society. And according to his upbringing the change is driven by degenerates and amorality. No wonder he has frustration when he fails delivering his platform and sees Harvey gain success on his. We see his world slipping away. After five years in prison we are told that Dan White committed suicide. Watching this movie you can understand why.
Overall this movie is sensational, inspirational, and smart. It was written by Dustin Lance Black and directed by Gus Van Sant. This is his first movie since 'Good Will Hunting' that may break out of indie land and into mainstream theaters...maybe. The subject matter might put a lot of people off. (It could win over a bunch of people I think if they didn't leave at the first love scene and saw the entire movie.) I expect to see Oscar Nominations from this movie. The lock is for Sean Penn for best actor. But other ones like Best Original Screenplay are a good bet. And I think Josh Brolin did a good enough job to warrant mention but Best Supporting Actor is so crowded every year that it is unlikely.
I've come to notice that any movie taking place in the 1970s has this grainy look to the cinematography. Sort of like movies that take place in the 50s being in black and white. What's up with that.
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