An Engaging Hymn for Tolerance ...

Rating: 10/10 (29 June 2011)

"Milk" is one of the best films of the last decade. I usually don't start my reviews with the conclusion, but this is a point I insist to start with, to avoid any misunderstanding.
Let's get this straight (no pun intended). I assume that most male viewers would feel uncomfortable while watching scenes of masculine intimacy. In all fairness, I don't think this is a hint of a repressed homophobia, but more the consequences of a taboo that maintained heterosexuality as the cinematic norm, reducing homosexuality to stereotypes, indirect foils to the heroes' straightness, or in a few cases of plot significance, nothing explicitly depicting homosexual intimacy, I mean, just as 'graphic' as the heterosexual treatment.
This is why the direction is crucial. Gus Van Sant goes straight forward by showing the most intimate scenes of nudity and implied sexuality during the first minutes. It's unusual, uneasy, but it's honest and gives you time to acclimate your eyes, and stop seeing two men but two persons who love each other together. It's a slow but significant progress, making "Milk" one of the most important films of the 2000's.
"Milk" is about both an evolution and a revolution. Told in a flashback narrative from Harvey Milk's tape recorded testimony, it's the story of his combat that put the gay movement in America's political map. It starts with disturbing opening credits, depicting the intolerant America of the 50's-60's, when homosexuals were victims of constant witch hunts orchestrated by the Police, basically the 'closet' era. At the end, while the fight was not over, there was a sense of pride, unity and affirmation of the community as a political force. It starts with Sean Penn an ordinary average-looking Wall Street agent who just turns 40 and complains to his new lover Scotty (James Franco) that he never accomplished anything in his life. At the end, Milk is revered as the leader, the incarnation, the pioneer and unfortunately, the true martyr of the LGBT movement in its fight for tolerance and equality of rights. So many changes in 8 years
"I need a change", says determinedly Harvey to Scotty, before they move to San Francisco in the iconic Castro district. Milk opens a camera shop then creates the 'Castro Valley Association of Local Merchants', an entity with a growing political influence earning him the title of "Mayor of Castro Street". The film has an undeniable informative value that helps you to understand the roots and ascension of the gay movement. When Milk abandons his hippie look for a more politically convenient appearance, this is a pivotal point. There's a progressive cohesion in the gay movement starting from its core, with a scene-stealing performance from Emile Hirsch as "the so adorable" Cleve Jones. Gus Van Sant's intimate direction is crucial for two reasons. First, it's an efficient empathy builder: I shared the enthusiasm, the paranoid feeling of the dark deserted streets and sometimes the surprises, like when Alison Pill as Anne Kronenberg came up, I had the same "hey, it's a girl!" reaction. The second reason, more serious, implies another female character, the infamous Anita Bryant.
I reckon I used to be skeptical regarding the gay movement. For me, one could say: "I'm a worker, farmer, teacher, mother etc." meaning to be politically and socially defined on a productive activity's basis, which excludes sex. But Anita Bryant and the anti-gay policies proved the fallaciousness of my reasoning. The Proposition 6, from the notorious homophobic Senator Briggs, totally disregarded homosexuals' privacy, by giving the right to fire gay and lesbian school teachers, a dangerous measure that would have normalized homophobia. Proposition 6 came at a crucial moment, when Harvey Milk, thanks to the new voting system by district, became the first openly gay Supervisor elected to a political office. The only response to this attack of privacy was a proud affirmation of this very privacy, as the essence of the gay movement in reaction to the closet : the symbol of oppression, which in the best case, allowed 'instutionalized' gay activists just to endorse straight candidates.
And this pride is efficiently conveyed through Dustin Lance Black's Oscar winning script, whose spiciest line, stuck in my memory, is Milk's priceless reply to a remark about men's procreation : "God knows we're trying". Surrounded, by a great cast of supporting characters, Penn embodies the sincerity and sensitivity of a man with his flaws, his mannerisms, his passion for opera, his touching self-derision and more than anything, a man of conviction, principles, and alas of premonitions. Milk, sadly, foresaw he wouldn't make it to 50, and knew he would be victim of an insecure person. The rest has been written in bloody letters by history, with Dan White as the pen. Josh Brolin, in a deserved Oscar-nominated performance, is a victim of his own prejudices, venting his frustration in the most cowardly way, by assassinating the mayor George Moscone and Harvey Milk. Milk who was not a political boy-scout either, he defended his interests as a true leader but whatever White's first intentions were, he proved to be a weak and dangerous man from his reaction while Milk proved to be a good man from his actions. And the scene of the assassination with this incredible brief 'no' upset me and I thought "God, what a waste".
The powerful last sight of people walking in San Francisco's streets with candles was a heart-breaking moment. More than a gay activist, more than a political leader, these people were also mourning the loss of a good heart and a free spirit, two qualities illustrated by Penn's smile in the movie's poster.
And beyond the inspirational story of Milk, the film still speaks for all the oppressed minorities in the world, where the fight for tolerance is not over yet