So I finally saw Milk after nagging my husband about it for a week and it was worth all the effort.

As expected, Sean Penn’s performance was transformative, moving and sweet. What I didn’t expect was how well-done the movie turned out to be. Gus Van Sant really managed to capture the time and place so that it felt immediate and real instead of nostalgic and trite, as many biopics, even with the best intentions turn out to be.

James Franco and Emile Hirsch were both fantastic. Franco, despite his youth has a deep, wizened sadness in his eyes that just breaks your heart, as if he was born with a weight of regret. And Hirsch-who really impressed me in last year’s Into The Wild- disappears int his role as one of Milk’s “groupies”.

Considering its controversial nature, the film may not be released as widely as some of the other Christmas gold-diggers. If you can make the effort, hit one of your local independent theaters and see this movie. It’s a treat.

No related posts.