obsession du jour: Echo Morgan

>> The whimsical ink and watercolor offerings from London-based artist Echo Morgan (a native of Chengdu, China) are an intriguing fairy tale blend of fashion illustration and street art.

Gus Van Sant and Sean Penn Bring "Milk" to Life

>> Knowing the ending of a movie before you even get to the theater might easily spoil a lesser movie than Gus Van Sant’s “Milk.”

But the biopic from openly gay director Van Sant (who directed 2003’s “Elephant and 1997’s “Good Will Hunting”) and screenwriter Justin Lance Black (a writer for HBO’s “Big Love’ making his big screen debut) gives new life to the man who was tragically assassinated in 1978.

“Milk” is a sensitive and haunting portrait of the man who was a community organizer long before Barack Obama entered politics, bucking the political status quo and fronting a powerful gay movement in San Francisco.

Harvey Milk, an insurance executive from New York, moved to California in 1972, settling into the Castro district as it experienced an influx of gay men and lesbians.

He dubbed himself the “Mayor of Castro Street” and, after three attempts, was elected Supervisor, becoming a San Francisco icon and a leader in the gay movement.

For California, the timing of Milk’s release couldn’t feel more urgent, with gay rights at the forefront of current political discussion in light of Proposition 8.

“Milk” is set to the backdrop of Proposition 6, a bill that would have fired all gay teachers along with any other faculty who supported gay rights in California.

Proposition 6 is strangely (and not too subtly) paralleled to the recently passed Proposition 8 and is a reminder that, for all the progress of the gay movement, there is a great deal of room for more.

Yet perhaps what makes “Milk” so compelling is that it succeeds where so many biopics fail.

Even the most amazing lives inevitably do not follow a traditional story telling arc, and so many biopics are forced to distort reality to fit the mold or risk a purely factual film without any real sense of narrative. But instead, Van Sant and Black have crafted a film that follows the many stories of Milk’s life, bringing them together into a whole fluid narrative.

The film follows the opposing forces in Milk’s (Sean Penn) public and private lives, including his political conflict with conservative Dan White (played with barely contained rage by Josh Brolin) and struggle with unstable boyfriend Jack Lira (Diego Luna).

More than simply balancing Milk’s dual lives, Black makes the case that, for Milk, there was no difference between them.

In several scenes, Milk firmly argues that privacy is the enemy of the gay movement and Black subtly demonstrates how truly Milk was living his own message.

Throughout the film, there is a chilling sense of tension and an awareness of the everyday danger of Milk’s activist life, as Black bookends the film with scenes of Milk recording a tape to be played in the event of his assassination.

Van Sant incorporates original broadcast footage, completely drawing viewers into 1970’s San Francisco. Van Sant seamlessly integrates the historic footage with his own, creating a dynamic engaging aesthetic.

“Milk” draws a young cast of strong supporting characters- including Emile Hirsch as Milk protégé Cleve Jones, Lucas Grabeel (of “High School Musical” fame) as photographer Danny Nicoletta and Alison Pill as lesbian campaign manager Anne Kronenburg- to populate Milk’s world. The film is steeped in the atmosphere of the Castro as Milk’s camera shop becomes his political headquarters and a sort of clubhouse for the gay community. Van Sant filmed on location in San Francisco, revisiting Milk’s 1970’s stomping grounds to truly give the film authenticity.

In the particularly sweet opening scene, Milk, dressed in a business suit and tie engages in playful banter with a younger, angel-faced hipster named Scotty Smith (James Franco) in a subway stairwell. The end of the scene finds Penn and Franco in bed, quietly talking and eating birthday cake.

The flirtatious, sexy and tender opening sets an unexpected tone for a movie based on very serious historical events.

Sean Penn neatly inhabits Milk’s life, all smiles, tenderness and charming New York accent, a departure from many previous darker, more brooding roles. Particularly as he addresses Franco in the subway, Penn’s portrayal reflects the isolation of a closeted New York businessman, marginalized by years of prosecution and social stigma.

Meanwhile, Franco disappears into the persona of Scotty Smith, Milk’s long time lover. The bittersweet relationship that plays out between Smith and Milk over the course of the film reflects an unusually sensitive onscreen intimacy.

As the credits prepare to roll, Gus Van Sant juxtaposes shots of the actors and the real life people, along with a few biographical blurbs. The stories of the lives that intersected with and were irrevocably changed by Milk’s life are a testament to the lasting effect of his brief, but undeniably earthshaking, life.

Reprinted from The Sonoma State Star [www.sonomastatestar.com]