Gah, Typepad changed stuff. I hate change.
Just a quick fly-by to link you over to AfterElton.com, where I used some snippets of my interviews with Milk director Gus Van Sant, screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, and stars Sean Penn and James Franco in a piece about an aspect of the political blockbuster that isn't getting much discussion:
(T)he opening scene of Gus Van Sant's Milk ... pretty much drags you by the hair right into the nightmare of shame and fear that gay men lived in the pre-Stonewall era, and even afterward.... It was a political statement, and this, after all, is the most eagerly awaited political film in gay movie history.
If you've heard the wait was worth it, you've heard right; Milk is a political powerhouse. But although not too many people are talking about it, the film is something else, too: a love story.
Not just any love story, either. It takes the real life relationship of Harvey Milk and Scott Smith and adds a little bit of movie-making magic, using it to tell the story of a hero who became a martyr, and the moment in our history when the love that once dared not speak its name became the love that wouldn't shut up.
[....]
Two men in love confronting society's condemnation with action instead of angst? This is definitely not Brokeback Mountain. When Scott is beaten by a cop during a raid on a Castro St. bar, Harvey doesn't wring his hands and tell him to be more careful; he patches up Scott's laceration, kisses him on the forehead, and suggests they start a revolution. He decides to start by running for city supervisor, with Scott as his campaign manager.
If you've heard the wait was worth it, you've heard right; Milk is a political powerhouse. But although not too many people are talking about it, the film is something else, too: a love story.
Not just any love story, either. It takes the real life relationship of Harvey Milk and Scott Smith and adds a little bit of movie-making magic, using it to tell the story of a hero who became a martyr, and the moment in our history when the love that once dared not speak its name became the love that wouldn't shut up.
[....]
Two men in love confronting society's condemnation with action instead of angst? This is definitely not Brokeback Mountain. When Scott is beaten by a cop during a raid on a Castro St. bar, Harvey doesn't wring his hands and tell him to be more careful; he patches up Scott's laceration, kisses him on the forehead, and suggests they start a revolution. He decides to start by running for city supervisor, with Scott as his campaign manager.
If you haven't seen the film, hurry go now! It just won Best Picture, Best Actor (Sean Penn as Harvey), and Best Support Actor (Josh Brolin, scarily good as Dan White) from the New York Critics Circle.
The rest of my article is here.
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