2008 biopicRating: 17/20
Plot: Well, I really thought this was going to be the biography of Kirk "Milk Dee" Robinson, one half of the late 80's/early 90's rap duo The Audio Two. Their biggest hit was "Top Billin'":
"Check it out: MC am I, people call me Milk. When I'm bustin' up a party, I feel no guilt. Gizmo's cuttin' up for the suckers that's down with me. The One of us, that's how I feel. To be down, you must appeal to the Two, we're rated R, we're gifted, and we're going far down the road to the bank. While I'm here, I'd like to thank Mom and Dad, they knew the time. Gizmo's scratching. Milk Dee's rhyming. Milk is chillin'. Giz is chillin'. What more can I say? Top billin'. That's what we get, got it good. Since you understood, would y ou stop scheming and looking hard? I got a great big bodyguard." And so on.
Milk isn't about rappers. It's about homosexual politician/activist Harvey Milk and his fight for gay rights and against American idiocy. But that's boring. I demand a biopic on rapper Milk Dee! If it's about Gizmo as well, then I'm fine with that. Are you listening, Hollywood? Let's get on the ball with this one!
Milk's a better movie than Slumdog Millionnaire and everything else I've seen from last year even though it didn't win. Sean Penn deserved his Oscar. I don't know why, but I'm always suprised when I see what a good actor he is. He's really good here, transforming himself with his voice, his expressions, and his mannerisms into Harvey. His performance sparkles! I was also really impressed with the period work that went into this. Stock footage, grainy film, and wardrobe were used to give it a 70's feel, and I'm not even sure how 1970's San Francisco was reproduced so accurately. It looked too big to be on a studio but blended too well to be special effects. The amount of actual footage used in this makes it remarkably documentary like. Some of that actual footage touches, some of it shocks, and some of it (I hope) embarrasses. The storytelling is well done though patchy in parts, and I appreciate how Van Sant some of the darker, less heroic moments in Milk's life. The supporting cast is also very good, but I would have liked a little more characterization with a few of them. The story needed to be told as much as Milk Dee's story does, and I'm glad it was told with the elegance and the maturity that it was. God bless America!
Penn's performance is extrodinary, and this is a very good film. I think the direction was alternately great and average. I saw it in a theatre and was very amused when about halfway through there is a scene in Harvey's kitchen where I saw about a foot of a boom mike. I loved the 70's recreation and the ending was incredibly touching.
ReplyDeleteWe have argued "Slumdog Millionaire" before and so it will not be a surprise that I think that it is a better film. "Milk" is a very good bio-pic, but "... Millionaire" is a totally original and electric film.
I will also be honest that, although open-minded, watching men kiss has never been one of my favorite things to do, and there is a lot of it in "Milk". In spite of occasionally wincing, I still think this is ONE of the best movies of last year and would give it a 16.
Oh, and I forgot to mention that I HATE RAP WITH EVERY FIBER OF MY BEING, and that my comment may have been stronger if a hadn't vomited so much after reading yours.
ReplyDeleteTwo things and then I'll do get up and do something real with my day:
ReplyDelete1) If you heard the Audio Two, you would no longer hate rap music. You would hate everything BUT rap music.
2) One of my favorite things to do is watch men kiss. Van Sant's filmed manlove in ways that would make you even more uncomfortable though. You got off easy (poor choice of words here) with this one.