Rave: Milk (the movie)
Posted: December 21 08, 7:35 pm
I was born in 1967, and was pretty much incubated by a firmly middle-class upbringing in a conservative suburban utopian state known as Webster Groves. Thus I really had little clue as to how tumultuous the 1970's were. Milk, the story of the first openly gay city official ever elected to office, gave me a me gripping view as to what the struggle for equal rights might have been like. It also helped me understand why many people hated Anita Bryant, whom I associated only with orange juice as a ten year old, not religious conservatism taken to legal extremes.
Sean Penn is as convincing as ever. I am not sure there is a role that Sean Penn could not play and play well. He really stands head and shoulders above his contemporaries as the most versatile dramatic actor of his generation. He delivers an Oscar-worthy performance as Harvey Milk. Josh Brolin, despite a script that I think gives him limited opportunity to develop a strong portrait of the most pivotal character in the film, also excels. I look forward to seeing Brolin in more films.
EDIT: If the film has any significant flaws, it is an absence of a more in-depth portrayal of the character of Dan White, and how his belief system and events in the film drove him to do what he did (being ambiguous here to avoid spoiler).
Sean Penn is as convincing as ever. I am not sure there is a role that Sean Penn could not play and play well. He really stands head and shoulders above his contemporaries as the most versatile dramatic actor of his generation. He delivers an Oscar-worthy performance as Harvey Milk. Josh Brolin, despite a script that I think gives him limited opportunity to develop a strong portrait of the most pivotal character in the film, also excels. I look forward to seeing Brolin in more films.
EDIT: If the film has any significant flaws, it is an absence of a more in-depth portrayal of the character of Dan White, and how his belief system and events in the film drove him to do what he did (being ambiguous here to avoid spoiler).