Crushing Dullness

Rating: 5/10 (8 February 2009)

Gus Van Sant clearly felt the awful weight of responsibility is dealing with the life of this important figure. Pity he decided to pass it on to the audience in the form of intense boredom and the usual clichés (the screen filling with one face after another as the phone campaign spreads, the voting-night 'drama' in which the gloom of defeat turns miraculously into a tsunami of support--one county! after! another!) and a lot of unexplained business (wasn't there at least SOME problematic fallout from the suicide--or weren't Milk's supporters at least afraid there would be?). Sean Penn did a creditable job as did everyone else.The over-the-top praise for this second-rate film (James Brolin--electrifying? really?)reflect people losing their heads--or saying what they think they're supposed to say.