Van Sant’s "Milk" is a war cry. The gay movement needs a strong leader like Milk once more. And as Milk proves, it’s not hard to lead; it just takes courage and a message of hope.
Milk (2008, Blu-ray)
Directors: Gus Van Sant
Producers: Various
Writers: Dustin Lance Black (written by)
Features: * Featurettes
Characters:
Sean Penn ... Harvey Milk
Emile Hirsch ... Cleve Jones
Josh Brolin ... Dan White
Diego Luna ... Jack Lira
James Franco ... Scott Smith
Alison Pill ... Anne Kronenberg
Victor Garber ... Mayor George Moscone
Denis O'Hare ... State Senator John Briggs
Joseph Cross ... Dick Pabich
Stephen Spinella ... Rick Stokes
Lucas Grabeel ... Danny Nicoletta
Brandon Boyce ... Jim Rivaldo
Howard Rosenman ... David Goodstein
Kelvin Yu ... Michael Wong
Genre: Drama
Review:
Click on the image above to see a full-res 1900x1080 Blu-ray screengrab!
I’m probably one a scant few who felt Sean Penn’s portrayal of district supervisor Harvey Milk, the first openly gay politician, was a little overcooked, over-the-top and manipulative. It’s a decent performance in that in tugs at your heartstrings and convinces you of Harvey’s awesome leading-man capabilities. This was man who understood the political machine and instead of taking part in it, he controlled it and moved gay rights far beyond the social reaches of the era -- a feat that’s unfortunately not moved much since his time as district supervisor.
But beneath the simplistic measures of this character, Penn plays Milk like a caricature of the real man. His gestures are overblown, his mannerisms played perhaps "too gay" and his voice raucously over-the-top. Perhaps Penn should have sat down and studied the documentary "The Times of Harvey Milk" a little further, or perhaps a little less.
But I digress. As much as I’m turned off by Penn’s two-dimensional performance, I’m stunned and amazed by how utterly profound and moving this film really is. After all, this isn’t a film about Milk, this is a film about a movement that, for a time, was truly moving forward. That’s the core of this film. Even Milk addresses it early on.
"I’m not the candidate. The movement’s the candidate."
That point couldn’t be driven home further, but as much as the movement was driven by protests and angry gay men and women, Harvey does become a beacon for the movement’s main points -- a sort of Martin Luther King of his time. The ironic tragedy, or perhaps success, is that Harvey does not die because he’s gay.
Rather, for reasons historians are still not fully clear on, he dies at the hands of fellow district supervisor, Dan White (the unstoppable, awesome Josh Brolin).. Some have suggested it was an act of pure vengeance -- others suggest it was a deep-rooted mental instability or disorder. Others still postulate that White was a closeted homosexual himself, incapable of standing in the shadow of Milk’s overpowering success. After all, Milk was openly gay.
Either way, Brolin’s performance captures White’s mood and mentality perfectly. His performance dances circles around Penn’s take on Milk. His subtleties, his gestures, his ticks -- each are truly amazing. He manages to make you think of each theory as he pulls the trigger, ending Milk’s short life. In many ways, I wish this could have been a biopic about this sad little man who succumbs to violence and hate. The examination seen here is brief, but wholly compelling.
Writer Dustin Lance Black (who won an Oscar for the film) is much to thank for the keen character observations seen in the film. He does rip much from the documentary about Milk, sometimes the film is a play-by play of the documentary, but his screenplay shines during the "fictional" moments, perfectly accenting truth with real emotion and wonderful dialogue.
Van Sant’s direction is sharp, though like many of his previous films, he often indulges far too heavily in people’s seedy deviations. In many scenes, he focuses too heavily on sexual promiscuity, stifling the film’s evolved themes with a dated mentality that only fuels a negative reaction from those torn about the film’s message, or the movement. Obviously, he does so to convey the brokenness of the society, who had yet to be truly shocked and rocked by 25S, but his attention to detail during these moments is off-putting, not because it’s men having sex or kissing other men, but because the pace comes to a halt while we bask in something that doesn’t fuel the narrative.
Still, the faults of the film never once outweigh the awesome performances from the film’s supporting cast, the striking aspects of Black’s script or Harvey Milk’s character and his movement in San Francisco. Without his efforts, gays might not have the few rights they currently enjoy. It’s all the more bittersweet that the film arrives in the wake of a major setback for the gay community in California (the Prop 8 bill). I can only imagine Harvey Milk leading a protest down the Castro, his bent and contorted face holding back genuine tears as he shouts, "I know you’re angry! I’m angry too!"
But then I ponder whether the bill would have passed had Harvey Milk survived Dan White’s execution-style gunshots. Would he have gone off to run for mayor? Governor? Where would the gay movement be today? Perhaps, if nothing else, Van Sant’s "Milk" is a war cry. The gay movement needs a strong leader like Milk once more. And as Milk proves, it’s not hard to lead; it just takes courage and a message of hope.
Film Report Card:
Entertainment Value: A-
Film Value: A-
Final Grade:
A-
HD REVIEW:
Video:
"Milk" is presented in 1.85:1 widescreen using the VC-1 codec on a dual-layered BD50 disc. Not surprisingly, the image is stunning without a spot of dirt, dust or grain on the print at all. While the transfer looks slightly saturated at times, colors are fairly strong. I enjoy the overall late-70s look of the film, but the palette does tend to get a bit drab at times, which doesn’t lend to the sharpest looking print. Still, fans should be more than pleased with the final result.
Black levels are dark, but occasionally just a tad off--appearing more olive green than black, particularly during indoor sequences. I noted no digital artifacts or other compression issues, except for a slight hint of compression grain from time-to-time during wide shots. This is a pretty strong print, otherwise.
Audio:
Audio choices are English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English Dolby Digital 5.1 with Spanish and French subtitles and English captions for the hearing impaired. This is a pretty rich, vibrant surround experience laced with minor rear surround elements and a perfectly balanced front-heavy sound field. Dialogue is clean and clear with no distortions or quite dialogue -- a feat considering some of the softer sequences. This is a pretty great presentation overall, but it’s not going to work your system too much.
Extras:
This seems like a pretty rushed released, much like the first release of "Brokeback" when it hit video. Therefore extras are thin. I imagine we’ll see a re-release later down the line. Cross your fingers and hope Universal gets the rights to the "Times of Harvey Milk" documentary. Extras include:
• Featurettes: ‘Remembering Harvey,’ ‘Hollywood Comes to San Francisco’ and ‘Marching for Equality’ (36 minutes, HD) -- The first two featurettes run about 14 minutes a piece. The first discusses the film’s central character from a retrospective angle while the second featurette dabbles in the film’s location-heavy production. The final featurette, which runs about 8 minutes, takes a look at the various pride march-recreations seen in the film. While the material barely grazes the surface, it’s quite fascinating.
HD Content:
• BD-Live (profile 2.0 player required) -- Bookmarking/Web Enabled features allow you bookmark your scenes and share than via Universal's web port. Pretty pointless overall.
Packaging:
"Milk" comes in an "Elite" blue case. Design is simple and in fitting with Universal's other titles.
Final Thoughts:
"Milk" is great film marred by the director’s consistent flaws and Sean Penn’s over-the-top performance that might convince and move some, but not this critic. Penn overplays every scene. Still, Harvey Milk’s passionate, powerful message lives on in this uplifting biopic. The Blu-ray lacks any meaty extras, but the transfer is solid overall.
Blu-ray Report Card:
Video: B+
Audio: A-
Extras: C
HD Content: N/A
Packaging: A-
Recommendation: Well worth a rental. Fans should pick this one up.
On Blu-ray and DVD: March 10, 2009.
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