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mlrAfter anticipating it so much, I was a little disappointed. I was hoping from the director of 'My Own Private Idaho' some elegiac song to Harvey and his moment in the sun. For that, you still have to see 'The Times of Harvey Milk'.
There were some good things; some in between; and some not so good.
Very Good:
Sean Penn embodies Harvey Milk. His performance is moving - with all the humor, passion, and intelligence Harvey must have had - truly a tour de force. Some of the other actors are very good - especially James Franco.
In between:
There's beaucoups of footage from the 70s. Some of the characters only exist in the footage. Anita Bryant's number of lines far exceeds those alloted to George Moscone - played by an actor. The real footage has a crispness that the filmed characters can't match; Dan White, Moscone, and Briggs all come off as wooden. It wasn't so much the actors as this now-it's-real, now-it's-not, technique -- maybe the script. The costumes and set, which labor to blend in, simply look low budget. (A friend disagreed with me on this.)
Not so good:
The movie has a couple of (crippling) Hollywood touches.
Half of the movie is the not-very-interesting retelling of Proposition 6 in California. Instead of giving the desired momentum, it has the opposite effect, and begs for an annoying parallel to this year's Prop 8.
Milk taped an eloquent statement to be played in case of his assassination. ('Milk' uses the statement as its structure - no problem with that.) The statement has a touching line about a phone call he received from a lost teen in Altoona Pennsylvania. Unfortunately this is dramatized. Altoona becomes somewhere in Minnesota (presumably Richmond - referred to in another speech), and the lost teen is not only lost but in a wheelchair. I know this was impossible to leave out, but somehow....
And finally where was the Castro of the 70s? This was the most sexual, fun, carefree, liberating place to be in 1978. You would hardly know it from the film.
------
I could be all wrong. Watch it sweep the Oscars. Sean Penn will deservedly be nominated. The score - which IMO is cloying - is crafted and, with its nod to Herrmann's 'Taxi Driver', echt Hollywood. It will probably be nominated. And the film itself is likely to be on the list.
There were some good things; some in between; and some not so good.
Very Good:
Sean Penn embodies Harvey Milk. His performance is moving - with all the humor, passion, and intelligence Harvey must have had - truly a tour de force. Some of the other actors are very good - especially James Franco.
In between:
There's beaucoups of footage from the 70s. Some of the characters only exist in the footage. Anita Bryant's number of lines far exceeds those alloted to George Moscone - played by an actor. The real footage has a crispness that the filmed characters can't match; Dan White, Moscone, and Briggs all come off as wooden. It wasn't so much the actors as this now-it's-real, now-it's-not, technique -- maybe the script. The costumes and set, which labor to blend in, simply look low budget. (A friend disagreed with me on this.)
Not so good:
The movie has a couple of (crippling) Hollywood touches.
Half of the movie is the not-very-interesting retelling of Proposition 6 in California. Instead of giving the desired momentum, it has the opposite effect, and begs for an annoying parallel to this year's Prop 8.
Milk taped an eloquent statement to be played in case of his assassination. ('Milk' uses the statement as its structure - no problem with that.) The statement has a touching line about a phone call he received from a lost teen in Altoona Pennsylvania. Unfortunately this is dramatized. Altoona becomes somewhere in Minnesota (presumably Richmond - referred to in another speech), and the lost teen is not only lost but in a wheelchair. I know this was impossible to leave out, but somehow....
And finally where was the Castro of the 70s? This was the most sexual, fun, carefree, liberating place to be in 1978. You would hardly know it from the film.
------
I could be all wrong. Watch it sweep the Oscars. Sean Penn will deservedly be nominated. The score - which IMO is cloying - is crafted and, with its nod to Herrmann's 'Taxi Driver', echt Hollywood. It will probably be nominated. And the film itself is likely to be on the list.
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no subject
Date: 2009-01-02 07:14 am (UTC)Because of the "gay cancer", extremist religious fanatics, homophobes and generally people that hate had new ammo to point towards more segregation and descrimination of homosexuals.
I hear it time and time and time again with christians that I debate with. They scapegoat ALL homosexuals as being rampant sexual deviants (which yes, some are) and this is fuel for their "yes on prop 8" bullshit.
I always point out to them that chlamydia and gonnhorea-sp? were products of heterosexuals and were also deadly...but have since been controlled with a cure, whereas AIDS/HIV hasn't YET.
anyways, i loved the movie, and right now i'm going to go watch My Own Private Idaho because I haven't seen it in years. :)