Civil Rights & Civil War

Rating: 8/10 (3 January 2009)

Gus Van Sant has always been an underrated film director, and his recurring theme of homosexuality and male-sensuality has always made his movies a bit edgy and always full of artful imagination. 2008's MILK shows just how great Van Sant is, it shows what he's capable of in terms of bold thematic content, narration and combining those elements of art and politics into a piece of brilliance. The casting is one of the best ensembles I can remember; Emilie Hircsh, Diego Luna, Alison Pill and Josh Brolin are all terrific, and especially James Franco as Harvey Milk's lover truly gets under your skin - and off course, Sean Penn as Milk himself is will I say his greatest performance and one of the most memorable of the decade; this is an all-round transformation into a man and his life, the physicality and the heart & soul of Milk couldn't have been portrayed better, I mean - this is what acting is all about and it should anchor him any award out there.
The narration is brilliantly put together by Milk recording himself onto a tape in his kitchen, real footage-shots of the famous Harvey-Milk documentary and fantastic vignettes in which all these great supporting characters gets the time and place they need to captivate.
The powerful story of Harvey Milk is just as up to date in 2008 as back in the mid 70s, and whether or not you support the gay rights this shouldn't ruin your film experience, because the film speaks for human rights, and it speaks for the minorities. Milk was a maverick and a pioneer that rose up and didn't bow his back for the law, he wanted change and he became the first openly gay man ever to be elected into major office. The dialogs are tender and they carry a great importance, and although there's a lot of heartbreak, political and moral issues, there's a fantastic flow of vibrant humor and sexuality. The music does just the same, it flows around with beautiful compositions and suddenly we're given David Bowie or Queen, and it always feel natural and carefully paced.
It's a daring movie with a detailed production and Gus Van Sant claiming his place among the most original film directors of his generation.