Milk
Yes, another film 'based on a true story'. I told you it was Oscar season! But it does bring out the best of Hollywood, and we see that here.
Sean Penn is the male lead (and in Best Actor mode) as Harvey Milk, the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in 1977 in San Francisco. The movie progresses at a steady pace charting the injustices of the time, his stirring speeches, and rallying supporters. Josh Brolin plays a more subdued role here compared to his recent parts. Here he plays an aggrieved colleague of Milk's, whose story comes to a devastating end.
The stellar cast all plays outside their relative comfort zones (maybe apart from Penn), but they do it with a meaningful intent. The actual events at the time were awe inspiring, which transpires into the film very well. In a way the gay rights movement created by Milk was similar - albeit on a smaller scale - to that of the civil rights movement in the '60s brought on by Martin Luther King. This story hasn’t really been told via mass media until now, and Gus Van Sant was reportedly said to have been working on this project for 15 years. The outcome of this labour of love is that Van Sant has created a movie of detail, which features many people from the movement, and close friends and family of Milk's and Dan White's. At times you think this is a documentary, not a recreation.
What Milk started is great, but this film is also a sad reminder of how little the gay rights movement has progressed. Milk’s outlined campaign and agenda was to recognise the existence of homosexuals in society and to affirm their equal rights, in particular, partnerships and marriage.
Last November, Proposition 8 was passed in California, which states that only marriage between opposite sex couples will be recognised. In a recent interview, Gus Van Sant said in that hindsight, he should have released the film prior to the vote in order to inform the public, and to remind them of the issue's 30-year history.
The stellar cast all plays outside their relative comfort zones (maybe apart from Penn), but they do it with a meaningful intent. The actual events at the time were awe inspiring, which transpires into the film very well. In a way the gay rights movement created by Milk was similar - albeit on a smaller scale - to that of the civil rights movement in the '60s brought on by Martin Luther King. This story hasn’t really been told via mass media until now, and Gus Van Sant was reportedly said to have been working on this project for 15 years. The outcome of this labour of love is that Van Sant has created a movie of detail, which features many people from the movement, and close friends and family of Milk's and Dan White's. At times you think this is a documentary, not a recreation.
What Milk started is great, but this film is also a sad reminder of how little the gay rights movement has progressed. Milk’s outlined campaign and agenda was to recognise the existence of homosexuals in society and to affirm their equal rights, in particular, partnerships and marriage.
Last November, Proposition 8 was passed in California, which states that only marriage between opposite sex couples will be recognised. In a recent interview, Gus Van Sant said in that hindsight, he should have released the film prior to the vote in order to inform the public, and to remind them of the issue's 30-year history.
Here Is The Writer : Omer Bhatti
Omer Bhatti, Head Sales Trader of WorldSpreads and markets commentator during the week, is always happy to go to a cushy cinema and devour films on the weekend. No film is ruled out, be it French film noir, Hollywood CGI action, or Japanese Manga. Look to Omer for input on where to go and what to see, whether it’s for a first date, family outing, Sunday recovery session, or guy's - or girl's - night out. (Just don't make him watch Sex & the City again.)
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