I had a funny/disturbing occurance last night at the movies. While on line (I have lived in NY long enough, I now say "on line" as opposed to being "in" it) to see The Wrestler (4 out of 5 stars), I had a friend ask me if I had seen Milk.
I told her that Milk was okay (as reported earlier in this blog), and that unlike many people I thought it was a rather pedestrian affair. I have seen a great many bio pics, and I think that Milk pales when compared to Isadora, Coal Miner's Daughter, Young Abe Lincoln...even The Buddy Holly Story is a better film then Milk. I think people love it because of the fiasco of Prop. 8 and the fact (stated below) that Sean Penn, a straight guy, kisses men!
All of a sudden the woman ahead of us on-line announced that Milk IS a great film. She was quite declarative in her endorsement that I was wrong and she was right--it is great. I used my clinical superpowers to frame it up for her and make her realize the reasons it may have spoken to her. But I was shocked by her behavior and troubled by the unspoken text of our conversation.
Milk is a story about a queer character told in a positive light. And sadly, tales such as this don't get told very often by homophobic Hollywood. That said, that still does not make it a better or worse film. I refuse to fall in lock step with those who think Milk is the greatest film of the year, anymore than I did when critics and civilians alike hailed one of the most tedious films of '08, The Dark Knight, because it is Heath Ledger's last performance. Was Heath a great actor? Yes. Was he a friend to queers? Yes. Was Dark Knight good? HELL NO. It sucked.
Movies are movies. They speak to us or they do not. But feeling the need to like something, anything, because of the statement it makes is a weak choice. One of the challenges in life is picking one's own intellectual agenda. It is not always easy, but it is genuinely you. And being you--your true self--and not some political clone, is the way to better mental health.
Harvey Milk died for that belief--how ironic.
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