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 In cinemas Thursday [M]
Director: Gus Van Sant
Runtime: 128mins
Harvey Milk was the first openly gay person to be elected to office in America, but was assassinated in 1978. His story is dramatised in a highly engaging manner in this film directed by Gus Van Sant, and driven by a dazzling performance by Sean Penn.
Milk first moved from New York to San Francisco in 1970 with his partner Scott (James Franco), setting up a camera shop in the district known as The Castro. By networking with the gay community, Milk not only made a success of his own business, he was able to help other gay-friendly businesses, while boycotting those that weren’t. It was the earliest emergence of the ‘Pink Dollar’, the gay movement using its consumer clout and strong organisation to form a power base in San Francisco.
Milk ran for the San Francisco equivalent of the city council, standing up to often-virulent anti-gay prejudice, and after several attempts, managed to get elected as a councillor or ‘supervisor’ as they are called in the U.S. At City Hall, Milk found himself dealing with a fellow supervisor who was big on family values, Dan White (Josh Brolin). Although opposites on social issues, White was willing to horse-trade with Milk by suggesting they support each other’s pet issue. Milk sought to get a Gay Rights Ordinance passed to help protect his community.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in America, the likes of Anita Bryant and her Moral Majority were striking down gay rights, culminating in a referendum in California to ban homosexuals from teaching jobs. Milk became the focus of opposition and activism, but his increasing political prominence had consequences for his personal life, as well as making him a potential target for assassination. Yet the actual circumstances of his death (for those who aren’t familiar with the history) are as surprising as they are tragic. The film suggests, albeit in a subtle way, a deeper internal psychological conflict in Milk’s killer than may have been apparent at the time.
But the film belongs to Sean Penn. While he has some tough competition for the Academy Award, he has already won some critics awards for his finely calibrated and intuitive portrayal of this inspirational figure who did so much to transform his community. More accessible to a wide audience than some of Van Sant’s recent films, without ever feeling like a Hollywood ‘biopic’, Milk is a great achievement for everyone involved and a thoroughly enjoyable movie experience.
****
GARRY WILLIAMS
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