Characters we might meet on Castro Street

Rating: 10/10 (30 January 2009)

Java Man Reviews "Milk." Originally appeared in LakewoodBuzz.com January, 2009.
OVERVIEW:
The film opens with Harvey Milk (Penn) at the age of 48 speaking into a tape recorder and reflecting on the last 8 years of his life. His compelling journey began at age 40 when as a Wall Street wonder boy he realized that there is more to life than hiding in the closet and collecting paychecks. He meets and falls in love with Scott Smith (Franco) and they move to San Francisco to open a camera shop on Castro Street, where the gay community is being continuously harassed by homophobic police. The camera store becomes a gathering place for young gays, such as Cleve Jones and Anne Kronenberg (Hirsch and Pill), who are becoming increasingly active in the fight for gay rights. After several defeats, Milk is elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors where he meets and works with Mayor George Moscone (Garber) and fellow supervisor Dan White (Brolin). As the film progresses, these three men move inevitably toward a crucial moment in San Francisco history.
REVIEW: 4 out of 4 Java Mugs
We know how this ends: Dan White walks into Mayor George Moscone's office, kills him, and then continues down the hall and into Supervisor Harvey Milk's office and kills him. So how does this film hold our interest (not to mention earn a 4-mug rating from this stingy critic)? It holds our interest because all of the elements of great film-making make an appearance.
It begins with Dustin Lance Black's compelling screenplay, based on a few short years in the life of a compelling character.
It also takes outstanding performances to bring the screenplay's characters to life. Penn is brilliant as the charismatic Milk while Brolin is exceptional as the ticking bomb who is Dan White. Other performances are solid, too, especially Hirsch, Franco and Pill as Milk's political pals. The cast is so competent and well-directed that we forget that they actors, but consider them as characters we might actually meet on Castro Street.
At the helm of all this is director Van Sant and his team of fellow artists who have used their film-making skills to take us back to another time. The setting is created in such a way that San Francisco of the seventies comes to life before our very eyes. The way they dress, the way they speak, the interior of the camera store--everything is accurate to the tiniest detail. Hand-held shots, close-ups, razor-sharp editing are all used effectively to evoke a sense of urgency and suspense.
There is a remarkable shot near the end, showing a candlelight march reaching as far as the eye can see. This is actual footage, in which Van Sant manages to insert several of his characters. It is emotionally powerful.
Each of the elements of great film-making mentioned here are represented by Oscar nominations for Black, Van Sant, Penn and Brolin. Then add 3 more for costume design, music and editing, and we can look for a few statuettes to find their way to the Milk contingent.