Milk

A brave turn for Gus Van Sant, not for the film's honesty or subject matter, but rather for allowing the story to unfold according to its subjects needs rather than experimenting with minimalism and vague profundities of past pictures under his direction. He doesn't play it safe by any means visually or thematically, but he shows restraint where restraint is due. Though it only follows 8 (?) years in the life of Harvey Milk, Dustin Lance's screenplay and Sean Penn's performance paint a detailed portrait of Milk's essence. He's alive on screen. When first viewing the trailer, I began to worry that Penn's performance would be overly mannered (that he would play at the character rather than "being" Milk) as I've seen in other roles. That worry was unearned. It's really a great performance. I was also impressed by James Franco and James Brolin in supporting roles. The hoopla surrounding their roles seems a bit much though. As supporting actors and characters, they serve well to tell the story. In my opinion however, recognition should be given to the best performance in a supporting role, not the best supporting performance (best at supporting to be more specific). A small gripe that takes nothing from the film. It's a great biopic that never glamorizes, play down, or sensationalizes for its own sake. And while it's bias on homosexual rights and morals is clear, I did not find it offensive. While Dan White is clearly wrong and disturbed, I sympathized with his plight and confusion - to the film and fimmakers' credits.

****