Opinion - this one, too.
***
There are films that draw one in so deeply that one feels part of it - the life, the Movement, the love. Finding Neverland was one of those, despite the liberal exaggeration of fact imbedded deep in the narrative.* Milk, however, is not.
Individually, the performances of the actors are wonderful. Penn as Milk, Franco as Scott Smith, Hirsch as Cleve Jones, and the other men and woman at the Castro - they're all good. They all infuse life into those skins that one has to make friends with and empathise with, for they're the ones that got the Gay Rights Movement going in 'Frisco in the '70s.
One also gets an idea of what the scene was for Gay Rights; a crude vantage, but still one. Enough, at least, to sympathise with either side of the cause, and to wonder at the conservatism of society in the 20th century. Enough, also, to make one's blood boil and long for a reason to fight (and there is enough reason now).
Where Milk fails is in making the connection between the man and his allies, and the scene. Milk speaks of the Movement as the candidate, and not him, but that's not the impression one gets upon watching the film. To be fair, it is purportedly a biopic and so perhaps that is justifiable, but it is also one that tries to give us an idea of the LGBT scene in the US during the '70s, and the film forgets that a little. The result is a film that focuses intermittently on the Movement and its developments, and on Milk and his life.
The problem with this is not just that it makes Milk an inadequate film; it makes it an inadequate biopic, and biopic is what it is. One understands the ideals that Milk stands for, but less about the man and his personal reasons for being so prominent a part of the Gay Movement.
Milk talks to us of what he did, but not of what he was and became. There isn't enough character exploration; one is never sharply touched by either a flaw or a virtue. That, I think, is one the biggest flaws Milk has.
But I'm human enough and silly enough to have tears in my eyes at the idealism the film projects on to Milk, and feel that that redeems the film for all its flaws. :)
* Go here.
5 comments:
Dear Pari,
I kind of felt otherwise while I was watching Milk. In all fairness, I've only seen the first three quarters of the movie. But I've seen enough to have liked it. What I liked about it was that it was not in my face. And there were subtle moments in the movie I still remember. Like the scene in the railway station where Milk meets his love at the beginning of the movie. Guess it's because I saw it at a time when the queer fest was happening, so it kind of fit in with all of it. Sometimes, it's not just the movie that you contextualise, but the context you're in as well...
@tinkerbell:
Yeah, I understand what you're saying. It's like Honey and the Moon playing on that day in the library.
Milk is moving and enriching, indeed; I admit that whole-heartedly. These are just flaws I noticed and thought could've been avoided.
Funny you should bring that song up 'coz I heard it las nght and remembered the last time I heard it with you...lost, tired and hoping to be inspired :)
@belle:
:) And things happen at just the right time.
@ Parivrajak
I agree with you on the lack of exploration of milk's personality. Plus it's pretty unclear why he decides to run for office, and his motivations are not really explored. But ultimately a very good film still.
Especially when you compare it with most of the trash Hollywood churns out :D (I'm writing this after watching Die Hard 4 - brilliant fun to watch, but only because of the cliches!)
@Sahana
well said! you're absolutely right about the contextualisation thingy.
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