Milk (2008)
This choice may hit on the nerves of many of my followers (wait, there are only three of you, and to be honest I am not sure how many of you actually read these entries). The only reason I expect any type of backlash is because this movie is about a homosexual politician (the first elected homosexual). There are many who simply don’t want to watch a movie about this topic. I’ll admit that although I was somewhat bothered by parts of Brokeback Mountain, this film didn’t give me the heebee-jeebees.
I believe Sean Penn may be one of the greatest actors of his generation, and more often than not, I usually like his performance, regardless of the overall quality of the film (my favorite performances are Carlito’s Way, Dead Man Walking, 21 Grams, The Assassination of Richard Nixon, Mystic River, and Milk). Here he wins his second Oscar for his (apparently) true to life portrayal of the late Harvey Milk. I feel sorry for those who can’t seem to brace themselves for watching a film on this topic, for Penn is excellent in the role.
Although i am a Penn fan, I am not a Gus Van Sant fan of any sort (although I did Like Good Will Hunting). However, here I felt he told a compelling story (Oscar winner for Best Original Screenplay, Dustin Black ), and he made the film much more mainstream than usual (similar to GWH). At over two hours the film moved briskly, covering several year’s in Milk’s life. Van Sant was honored with a nomination for Best Director, as he deserved.
In addition to Penn’s performance, there were several stand-out performances from his supporting cast. Josh Brolin plays Dan White, Milk’s nemesis. He does a remarkable job providing depth, compassion, and humanity to White, who truly is despicable. James Franco turns in the best performance of his career and Emile Hirsch shows his talent yet again (check him out in Penn’s Into the Wild).
As I stated earlier, I know this film isn’t for everyone, but it definitely is worth watching.
This choice may hit on the nerves of many of my followers (wait, there are only three of you, and to be honest I am not sure how many of you actually read these entries). The only reason I expect any type of backlash is because this movie is about a homosexual politician (the first elected homosexual). There are many who simply don’t want to watch a movie about this topic. I’ll admit that although I was somewhat bothered by parts of Brokeback Mountain, this film didn’t give me the heebee-jeebees.
I believe Sean Penn may be one of the greatest actors of his generation, and more often than not, I usually like his performance, regardless of the overall quality of the film (my favorite performances are Carlito’s Way, Dead Man Walking, 21 Grams, The Assassination of Richard Nixon, Mystic River, and Milk). Here he wins his second Oscar for his (apparently) true to life portrayal of the late Harvey Milk. I feel sorry for those who can’t seem to brace themselves for watching a film on this topic, for Penn is excellent in the role.
Although i am a Penn fan, I am not a Gus Van Sant fan of any sort (although I did Like Good Will Hunting). However, here I felt he told a compelling story (Oscar winner for Best Original Screenplay, Dustin Black ), and he made the film much more mainstream than usual (similar to GWH). At over two hours the film moved briskly, covering several year’s in Milk’s life. Van Sant was honored with a nomination for Best Director, as he deserved.
In addition to Penn’s performance, there were several stand-out performances from his supporting cast. Josh Brolin plays Dan White, Milk’s nemesis. He does a remarkable job providing depth, compassion, and humanity to White, who truly is despicable. James Franco turns in the best performance of his career and Emile Hirsch shows his talent yet again (check him out in Penn’s Into the Wild).
As I stated earlier, I know this film isn’t for everyone, but it definitely is worth watching.
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