The letters M, L + K are three tall, bold letters, and when in the proper formation stand for something. Add “I” and what do you get?  We are not talking vitamins, nor are we playing word games while searching for a vowel on Wheel of Fortune®, what does it spell?

MILK.

Altogether a word that “does a body good”, loud and proud. And a film of the same name which opened this week in limited release. Yes, a story about Harvey Milk, not much unlike the man behind those grand initials who also started his own revolution. Gus Van Sant has perhaps made the most accessible film of his career and it is a poignant, master docudrama for our times.

THE MAYOR OF CASTRO STREET: The film truly takes the story to new heights by following the people and emotions behind the scenes of 70’s San Francisco and the emergence of a renewed fight for civil rights after Stonewall ten years prior. The movie also allows viewers to see characters who are raw and multidimensional (Sean Penn and Josh Brolin) without watering down their historical significance as mere public servants. This is a near perfect film that focuses on the passion and politics of real peoples’ lives. Interesting how its timing reflects the after effects still mirroring the plague over democracy.

PS: For all you art hounds out there…you may find it interesting (and I wouldn’t have known unless I was a end-credit reader), but Jeff Koons (Art Agnos) appears in the film. Agnos was originally from Springfield, MA and served as the mayor of San Francisco from 1988-1992.

PPS: STR8, BUT NOT NARROW - It was a fun casting twist to see a straight man (Penn) play Harvey Milk and a gay man play Mayor Moscone (Garber).

PPPS: AND THE WINNER IS….Though not quite a golden statuette or a gilded globe, the film was just nominated for a few International Press Academy Awards.

Tags: Art Agnos, Gus Van Sant, Harvey Milk, International Press Academy Awards, James Franco, Jeff Koons, Milk, Proposition 8, Sean Penn, Victor Garber

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 30th, 2008 at 5:13 pm and is filed under Screen. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.