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Milk: After 30 Years, a Film Returns to a Harrowing Time in San Francisco
Aloysius J. Gleek:
http://www.observer.com/2008/media/denby-scott-agree-subway-pick-scene-milk-hot-and-james-franco-angelic-hipster
Denby, Scott Agree: Subway Pick-Up Scene in Milk is Hot;
James Franco is Angelic
Critical Darlings: Franco and Penn courtesy Focus Features
by John Koblin
November 28, 2008
Critics are falling all over themselves to laud Gus Van Sant's Milk. Some seem to love one scene in particular:
A.O. Scott, The New York Times:
One of the first scenes in 'Milk' is of a pick-up in a New York subway station. It’s 1970, and an insurance executive in a suit and tie catches sight of a beautiful, scruffy younger man — the phrase 'angel-headed hipster' comes to mind — and banters with him on the stairs. The mood of the moment, which ends up with the two men eating birthday cake in bed, is casual and sexy, and its flirtatious playfulness is somewhat disarming, given our expectation of a serious and important movie grounded in historical events.
David Denby, The New Yorker:
At the beginning of Gus Van Sant’s vibrantly entertaining bio-pic 'Milk,' Harvey Milk (Sean Penn) picks up a much younger man in the New York subway. Physically, the two are far from equals: Penn’s Milk is forty and short, with a big schnoz and matted wedges of hair heading uneasily in different directions; Scott Smith, played by James Franco, is tall and slender, with an angel face and a curly brown mane. But Smith is charmed by Milk’s self-deprecating humor, and turned on by his ravenous need. Sighing, Smith gives in and goes home with him. It is the first of Harvey Milk’s triumphs that we see.
[...]
The gay leader becomes a superb pol with a human-rights agenda, and the movie offers a mildly subversive suggestion: attracting the electorate is not all that different from picking up a young man in the subway. Charm, persistence, and articulate passion are required for both.
Ann Hornaday, The Washington Post:
Thanks in large part to Penn's sensitive portrayal, when Harvey picks up a young stranger in a Manhattan subway station as 'Milk' opens, the encounter doesn't feel predatory. Instead, it bespeaks the isolation and furtive search for intimacy engendered by years of stigma and persecution. Scott Smith (James Franco) goes home with Harvey and later moves with him to San Francisco's Castro neighborhood...
Aloysius J. Gleek:
http://cbs5.com/local/harvey.milk.bill.2.829771.html
Schwarzenegger Vetoes Harvey Milk Day Bill
Sep 30, 2008 11:50 pm US/Pacific
SACRAMENTO (AP) ― Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed a bill that would have made the birthday of gay San Francisco political icon Harvey Milk a statewide "day of significance."
In his veto message issued Tuesday, the governor said that while he respected the measure's intent, he thinks Milk's "contributions should continue to be recognized at the local level by those who were most impacted by his contributions."
Conservative groups had lobbied Schwarzenegger not to sign the legislation, sponsored by Assemblyman Mark Leno of San Francisco.
Milk became the nation's first openly gay man to hold a prominent political office when he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977.
He and Mayor George Moscone were assassinated by a fellow supervisor in 1978.
Aloysius J. Gleek:
Anita Bryant (1:17)
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dS91gT3XT_A[/youtube]
Artiste:
There are many Anita Bryants out there still ?
oilgun:
I saw it today and really enjoyed it. It IS a conventionally structured bio-pic but I think that because of that, it ends up being subversive. The showing I attended had a healthy crowd made up of mostly straight people, including many seniors (it was a matinee) and there we were, all watching a movie about gay activism. The scene near the end when the fat lady sings was a bit much though. I haven't heard Diego Luna'sname mentioned very much but I think he gives a wonderful performance as Harvey's very high-maintenance lover.
Saw the trailers for DOUBT, FROST VS NIXON & REVOLUTIONARY ROAD. They all look good, especially DOUBT with Meryl Streep as a deliciously evil nun!
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