Milk

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(James Franco in "Milk"; the real Harvey Milk, [in tie], with unidentified friend; James Franco and Sean Penn in "Milk".)

"Milk"

We saw the film, "Milk", a couple of weeks ago, and just like everyone else, were blown away. It's the story of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay person to be elected to major office in America. Milk was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977, (serving under Board of Supervisors President, Diane Feinstein), only to be assassinated a year later by disgruntled fellow City Supervisor, Dan White.

The film's story is told with great care by director, Gus Van Sant, and the performances by the acting enemble are breathtaking, especially Sean Penn's as Milk. The film falls short as a great bio-pic, though, as it only focuses on the happier and more positive aspects of Milk's career and personal life. We never see the demons of Milk's personality or the despair which must have come with so many professional and personal failings. And it would have been nice to have seen something of Milk's younger years, what formed him into the person he became. No one is a saint, but "Milk" comes dangerously close to painting Harvey Milk as one.

There is a lot of Oscar talk for the cast; Penn is certainly deserving, but although James Franco and Emile Hersch are good, their roles are just not Oscar caliber roles. Oscars usually go to roles which are "meaty" and richly layered, and Franco and Hersch's scenes just don't have the heft which garners attention from Oscar voters. That doesn't mean they won't be nominated, Oscars are often given as trophies of popularity, i.e. Whoopie Goldberg, Robin Williams, etc., but I wouldn't count on it for Franco and Hersch. More likely to sneak in a nomination for "Milk" would be Josh Brolin as the unbalanced Dan White. Not only is Josh spectacularly understated but powerful in his few brief scenes, but the Academy is ready to reward Brolin after a series of stellar performances including his roles in "No Country for Old Men" and "W".

On a personal note, James Franco has been a favorite of ours for many years, but he is particularly charming in "Milk", playing Milk's lover, Scott Smith. There is a scene in which Penn's Milk quietly whispers a message of love to Franco's Smith, at which point Franco turns to look at Penn, smiles a smile that says, "At this moment, I am completely and utterly in love with you," and at that moment we fall completely and utterly in love with James Franco.

"Milk"'s greatest accomplishment, and greatest source of joy, is probably its ability to remind us that anything is possible in life. The film is so uplifting and such a cheerleader for the human spirit that one leaves the theater feeling exhilirated, despite its sad ending. The film is also eerily topical in that as we watch the victimization of the gay community in 1977 on the screen, we cannot help but think of the similar way our community is still being ostracized through outrageous acts like Proposition 8.

"Milk" is an amazing accomplishment, massively entertaining, and gay or straight, a film which should not be missed.