Reviews: Milk & Slumdog Millionaire

Gay Old Times

Often times, there are words that describe films or other pieces of art that are either overused or misused. Words like "auteur", "groundbreaking" and "majestic" have been very popular ones, and I myself have sometimes been the perpetrator of this particular crime. However, one word that I hardly ever use is "inspirational." Not only do I never describe anything that is now a staple tagline to fact-based Disney sport movies, but it is a label for a film that does something much more than be good. It has to make an impact, but in such a way that the viewing stays long with you and forces a different outlook. Very few films are able to do that, even the best of ones, though I am extremely happy to report that Milk is one of the few that fits into that category.

The film details the life of Harvey Milk (Sean Penn), a fortysomething businessman who moves from his closeted New York home with his lover Scott Smith (James Franco) out to San Francisco. It is here where Milk began his prolific career in politics, running many times for the city's supervisor, and eventually winning in 1977, making him the first openly gay man to be elected to public office. The film offers up Harvey's strong political messages, his vigor toward change, his energetic personality, his distraught love life, his battle with other supervisor Dan White (Josh Brolin), and eventually his very tragic assassination at the hand of White in 1978.

It has been a long time since I've been excited to talk about a Gus Van Sant film. Actually, to be completely honest, I've never been excited about a Gus Van Sant film. Being too young to remember the release of Good Will Hunting, I've only been exposed to the reclusive and experimental film styles of Van Sant, which were often annoyingly free-spirited (Last Days) or smug social commentaries (Psycho, if you think about it long enough). However, Van Sant delivers a perfect mood here. His direction offers some unusual staging, but never in a way that feels forced. It seems to offer a greater intimacy with the story as well as the characters, and he does a great job at inviting us in to both.

Van Sant very successfully transports us into this time and story, and much of that has to do with his discreet use of archival stock footage. Edited wonderfully within the story by Elliot Graham, the footage enhances the energy in the room given off by the film, and something special has to be noted when the film can villainies conservative activist Anita Bryant without casting an actress and just using old footage (Clooney also did this well with McCarthey in Good Night, and Good Luck.).

Writer Dustin Lance Black's script initially feels like it's starting on the wrong foot, as it disregards the usual biopic rules by focusing on the last eight years of Milk's life and immediately plants us into the middle aged life. Then the screenplay then unfolds to reveal a treasure cove of little gems with characters, smart dialogue and very well crafted scenes. To be fair, Black's script doesn't vary too far away from usual biopics, but there are some exceptions taken, and even when not, the story about this man is executed in such a fascinating way. Some might also wonder about the seemingly unnecessary sexual scenes featured in the film. To that, I would say that anybody who has peered into the gay community knows that sex is an important element there, and also, when a film has a gay director, gay writer, gay crew members and is about a prolific gay politician, scenes like that are going to slip in and they're obviously not put in there for straight audiences.

Quite clearly, the magnificent star is Penn. Penn is one of those few kinds of actors who is able to completely disappear into a role. We no longer see Sean Penn playing Harvey Milk, we just see Harvey Milk. Even if someone did not know about this man, and the way he conversed, one would still recognize Penn completely fulfilling the role. I know that Mickey Rourke and Frank Langella are serious Oscar contenders this year, but Penn provides one his best performances in a very long time, even better than his great, but slightly hammy, work for his Oscar-winning role in Mystic River.

The film's supporting cast is also top notch. Franco proves himself here as a serious actor, bringing a tenderness that can be forgotten in the political world, as well as a great anchor for Harvey's flamboyancy. Emile Hirsch, who plays one of Milk's political activists, previously worked with Penn the director for last year's Into the Wild. That chemistry definitely comes across and he's a fine performer. Diego Luna is all charm and smiles as Milk's second, and erratic, lover, Alison Pill as the campaign manager brings a lot of good natured comic relief, Victor Garbor does well in the cameo role as the mayor, and Brolin as White paints him as a sort of humble idiot who couldn't control his emotions. It's an interesting ploy, but I would argue Brolin already did that for W., and I liked it better the first time.

Even with that seemingly repeat performance from Brolin, the film is nothing short of excellent. Intriguingly directed, wonderfully written, and marvelously acted by the whole ensemble, with Penn as the shining star, the movie is miraculous. It is inspirational, not only for all those reasons, but because the timing of the film has come out during a very prolific time for gay rights, and there are many times in the movie where the then ballot measure Proposition 6 could very much be switched with an 8 and still make sense. That is why the film is inspirational, because it forces us to look at the battles fought in the past and see the journey that has been made, and what a journey it was. **** / ****; GRADE: A



Dog Day Afternoon

Director Danny Boyle has always been a name that has fascinated me whenever I heard it. His attention to style for his films is generally something to truly marvel at and I do believe that he has done enough to be credited as a great filmmaker. The only reason why he may possibly not have that credit with some is because that style has usually been attached to pulp stories that do not tend to exist any farther beyond the celuloid. Here, however, Boyle has tapped into an area that finds universal appeal, and it is why this is an almost perfect film.

Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) is appearing on India's version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" when someone accuses him of cheating. After excessive lenghts are taken to root out this potential information from him. This sets into a chain of flashbacks featuring Jamal, his brother Salim, and friendly girl Latika after the deaths of their parents due to sectarian violence. They survive in the streets and pick up little things on the way, which the film intentionally shows to reveal how Jamal is so knowledgeable about the correct answers to the questions.

This is a great film from Danny Boyle, but some part of me thinks that calling it his best is not ture. In all honesty, I don't think this film is very different from what Boyle has done in the past. The sensationalism from the technical aspect is still there, there remains an intimate portrait of a narrow field of characters, and there is also a tendency for the ending to become bogged down with over-the-top galleries and genre cliches. This is the same type of film he's been always making, and I believe this is being called an exception only because this has been a rather disappointing year for films. Still, Boyle's sensationalism is always one to be enjoyed, especially guided by Anthony Dod Mantle's textured cinematography, Chris Dickens's lively editing, and A.R. Rahman's fast and delightful score. I would also give Boyle credit for best use of "Paper Planes" since the Pineapple Express trailer.

Patel shines in his first breakout role, but I was not completely blown away by his performance. It was good, but there's a shyness to his character, and it often times feels like Patel can go a greater distance. I certainly look forward to other films starring him. The two child actors that play the younger version of him are also terriffic, with the youngest being adorably cute, and the middle seeming very wise and camera friendly. The three actors who play Salim do good, but they all deliver the same performance basically. Freida Pinto does well as Latika, but her character is unfortunatelly hindered by the film's emphasis of her existance only for the eventual love story.

Simon Beaufoy's script is one that works well most of the time, and the flashbacks to the slums to the studio gives a great insight to how the mind of Jamal works and how he was able to find these unbelievable answers. The drawback is that some of the tension is taken out of the game show scenes and some flashbacks begin to feel more forced than previously nuanced. There is also a point at the end where the film reverts into a formulaic love story that starts to trivialize the movie and makes it hard earned edge from the beginning start to diminish. Fortunately this doesn't take up too much time, as the film knows when to end.

I think this is a great, great movie. However, I want to make it clear that those who have seen Boyle's work should not expect anything beyond what he has done. The film follows the same formula, and with it there are triumphs and faults to go along with it. Still, it is Boyle that makes the film succeed, and his stylish vision is very much appreciated here. ***1/2 / ****; GRADE: A-