Best Actor 2008: Sean Penn in Milk

Sean Penn won his second Oscar from his fourth nomination for portraying Harvey Milk in Milk.

Milk is a rather standard biography film that essentially is a retelling of the documentary about Harvey Milk, The Times of Harvey Milk, making its original screenplay win rather ridiculous.

Well after giving the film another viewing after many years I will say my view has changed a bit. Not so much on the film, which I still think is a decent fairly straight forward biopic. Watching it again though I will say though that Sean Penn actually gives a performance very much fitting to such a biopic. This is to the point, that despite some surface elements, it is very dissimilar to a lot of Penn's work. Penn is noted for his flamboyant, usually hammy, performances however interestingly that actually is not what he does with the role of Harvey Milk, who was a reasonably flamboyant guy when seen in the public eye. Penn actually uses this to give one of his more subdued performances as he actually sets up a certain personal style within the character of Milk that offers sort of an insight into the idea of a politician. This is specifically though into the idea of insight as the first openly elected homosexual politician in the United States. In that Penn develops multiple sides of the character in his work there being the man we meet in his session with his other social activists in his store, the man on the world's stage, and also quietly recording a final testament in his belief that he will eventually be assassinated.

Penn embodies every side of the man fully within his work from his particular timbre of voice and physical mannerisms. These are very much opposed to Penn's typical mannerisms, and he uses these effectively in order to convey the different states of Milk as the political operator in a way. Now in the most open public spaces we get Penn at his most flamboyant. He is actually rather effective in the way he plays these scenes basically as Harvey playing them up a bit for the crowd. Penn actually changes dependent on the situation showing that Harvey in a way purposefully portrays himself as whatever he feels he needs to show the crowd. The one facet of this being that he in a way camps it up, where he amplifies those mannerisms, which Penn projects directly into when Harvey is directly interacting with mostly straight crowds. Penn uses this in a way to show Harvey essentially creating the visibility fitting to a man who wishes to be known as gay in the public eye. He does this even in two ways which is interesting. One being in crowds he wishes to win over he projects a warmth within their overtness like he's Paul Lynde as a way to endear the crowd to them. When working with a directly hostile crowd or person though Penn delivers this as overt though now with a confrontational hostility, as he is trying to directly invade their personal space, and force them to directly face who he is and what he represents.

That is opposed to when Milk is with his inner circle of supporters and activists or even with crowds of other homosexuals. Penn again sets his performance differently depending on the crowd and the situation once again realizing the nature of the politician. He's particularly good with this through his scenes with the inner circle where he creates this variation. One hand he in part fulfills the idea of Milk as the first out politician in terms of his emphasis on Milk playing up certain behaviors. He tempers this much of the time though in the more serious minded discussions however Penn plays with the idea effectively dependent on this mood. When he speaks to them less as individuals and more of the group as supporters, such as when he requests they all out themselves to their families, Penn puts on a certain show. He does not make it the same level as with sort of the "general" audience, but he does put on the idea of Harvey Milk as this representative, and not just at a government level. This is even more evident in his scenes with the crowds of homosexuals. He brings in these moments sort of the grandeur of a proper politician and leader. Again Penn paints this with touches of flamboyance though he uses that as undercurrent with the more powerful sentiment being the passion he delivers in every one of his speeches. He reveals the man playing to the crowd as this force of personality, and as man very much created an image people can believe and follow.

This is against however the man that Harvey Milk is beneath all the requirements of the politician. We don't see this Harvey too often. Penn reveals him in the taping of the testament, and in his later scenes with Dan White (Josh Brolin) and Milk's lovers Scott (James Franco) and Jack (Diego Luna). Now in these scenes Penn is at his most subtle and quiet. He still exudes certain mannerisms however it is here where they seem most natural and worn within the man when he has essentially now one to persuade or confront. This is just the man as himself and Penn delivers an effectively subdued look at very much the man without any needs to be anyone other than himself. This quite honestly at Penn at some of his most subdued in general and is quite good in these moments in revealing a more direct wear of the life in his certain haggard delivery of his testament, but also offers a real poignancy within these moments of reflection revealing a genuine pride in his accomplishment. The scenes between Harvey and Scott and Jack are bit different though. In that each Penn reveals sort of the ways of a man who had been long in the closet in each of his interactions with each man when they initially meet. In that in each Penn very much puts his attentions forth in a very obvious way, however this is fitting to someone who once had to make his intentions known quickly and somewhat non-verbally. Over time though Penn reveals again that quieter self as he shows off the man's own vulnerabilities which are far more open in these relationships than anywhere else in his life. His most fascinating relationship though is perhaps with the man who would eventually kill him in Josh Brolin's Dan White. In that in these singular interactions Penn realizes this idea of the interaction between essentially the politician and the man throughout. In that early on Penn shows Milk starting out strong to make himself very much known to White. This is somewhat of surface interaction however as they keep going, where they come to conflict several times, Penn is interesting as he shows a growing sympathy within Milk for the man who is increasingly becoming unhinged. This is especially interesting in the later scenes in that we see even this interesting mix in the quieter personal moments Penn emphasizes this concern for White, while in the politician moments he reaffirms an even stronger stance against the man's continued career. This is a very good performance by Sean Penn as he tempers his usual excesses, and actually succeeds in giving a more personalized work that goes beyond even the requirements within the film as he offers both the inspirational figure desired by the film and this examination of what it means to be a politician..