Milk

Loved it! Wasn't sure at the start as it seemed slow at the beginning but i was gripped by the end. Really moving, Penn and James Franco had great chemistry, fantastic performances.

I'm not sure how far America has moved on though, just watching Letterman interview James Franco, i thought Letterman came across as totally homophobic and i suspect he's still one of many!
 
Unfortunately, I had to switch it off after 20 minutes, as the movie was making me feel uncomfortable. I thought I'd be alright with it, but from the word go there was too much man on man action shoved in my face, which prevented me from enjoying the movie properly. The full on kissing, cuddling and 'gayness' was just too much for me to take. I feel awful for saying that, but I'm just being honest. I tried to stick with it but I couldn't see much point in continuing to watch something that was making me feel uncomfortable.

Maybe I am missing out on a great movie (the critics seem to think so) so I'd probably give it another go at some point.

How did other straight men feel about watching this movie?
 
.... sorry mate- STRANGE POST!! Its a film about a GAY MAN, openly gay, fighting for gay rights... didnt U expect some gay activity in it??

Moving on....

I liked the grainy original footage, I wonder what Anita (or her family) think of her image being used so much in the film... (or maybe it was an actress). :confused:


Penn was good as ever..

James Franco- first time Ive seen him in anything substantial. Always pegged him as a vacuous pretty boy previously. Shame on me for being so prejudiced- he was great in this!!

Loved the film and the very moving ending (incl original footage)

My main problem was with the OPERA!! What is it with Hollywood, gay men and f*****g OPERA to express intense emotion.. turning into a bit of a cliche eh??

I could have done without the sodding opera tbh...
 
Thats the thing, I knew what it was about, and like I said, I thought I'd be alright with watching it.

I have a DVD with screeners of all the movies that are oscar nominated for best pic this year, which is why I watched it.

I just found the relationship scenes a bit too much. I am not saying they should of held back on the intimate scenes for the beneift of people like me, but I would have found it easier to watch. I didn't expect such intimate man on man action, so maybe I was being naive. I hadn't researched the movie much at all. I just knew it was about Harvey Milk and his political battle against homophobia.

Oh well, my loss anyways. Still got The Reader and Frost/Nixon to watch before the Oscars :D
 
It's not explicit, though, and it's not gratuitous because it's part of the story. His relationships with Scott and Jack are central to the plot and it would be weird and a bit insulting to gloss over them for the sake of not offending some viewers.

I wasn't particularly offended by the opera scenes either, but found found the scene with everyone dancing to Sylvester rather hard to watch:rolleyes:
 
The bits with Anita Bryant were all original footage. I think that in real life she has become much more liberal and has renounced her former bigoted views.

There was a famous incident (although it was not shown in the film and was not directly related to the Harvey Milk story) when Anita Bryant was appearing live on television when a groups of gay-rights protestors managed to invade the studio and splat a custard pie into her face. After the initial shock, her immediate reaction was to start praying for the people who had attacked her, and asked God that they should be delivered from their deviant lifestyle. :D:):rolleyes:
 
Apparently Anita Bryant got a taste of her own medicine when shunned by her church when her marriage failed, after which she adopted a more 'live and let live' attitude. Her life is an equally fascinating story and would make a great companion film.

As for the film, I enjoyed it. Loved the period detail of 70's SF and of course Penn's performance was incredible. My 2nd favourite BP nominee behind Slumdog.
 
No, I don't think she has, and she certainly hasn't said sorry for the times when her hate caused the taunting, beating up, murder and suicides of our gay brothers and sisters. Every time she 'preached', more hate and misery happened.

She neeRAB to take responsibility for what she did. She certainly hasn't done that. But, she's not dead yet, so I guess there's time for her to repent.

However, for us, we don't actually need her to. She's done her worst.
 
I thought it was good. Not great, just good. Penn was superb and didn't resort to a stereotypical portrayal of a gay man.

But overall something was missing. I felt no emotional connection with the characters and ultimately who was Harvey Milk?? In the UK very people would have known who he was (I did because I've been on a tour of the Castro district) but in America I'm sure he was an icon of gay activism. We don't really have that over here.

Typical American film vying for Oscar glory.
 
Interesting. I'm sure many people in the UK are aware of Harvey Milk. I was in my twenties when he was murdered and it was definitely in the news here, but maybe it's an event in that twilight area between current affairs and history.

As far as the Oscars are concerned, I think Penn's acting is worth the award. Mickey Rourke is fantastic in The Wrestler but is it great acting or is it that he empathises with the character so much he becomes him?
 
I had a similar conversation with frienRAB after we saw the film. If you didn't remember the events of his death then how do you find out about him? He wouldn't necessarily be mentioned in schools and in Britain I feel he doesn't have the same iconic status.

I guess that is way LGBT History Month is so important. How else would you know about important events like this?
 
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