Movie Reviews: 'Milk,' 'Happy-Go-Lucky' line up for Oscars

In the past few weeks, Springfield has been treated to "Rachel Getting Married," "Man on Wire" and "Synecdoche, NY." Currently, two more of my favorite films of the year (reviewed below) are playing, and "Slumdog Millionaire" opens Dec. 19.

"Milk"

Sean Penn is not only a great actor but a brave one as well. His role as Harvey Milk in Gus Van Sant's "Milk" may shock some who still remember him as Spicoli, the quintessential stoner dude in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High." But he's done a lot of serious work since then.

Two of his finest films are "Dead Man Walking" and "Mystic River," but it's "Milk" that will cement his reputation. It's the performance of his career, and Van Sant could not have made a better choice for the role of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in the United States.

As we see in the newsreel footage and still photos from the late 1960s, being openly gay had more implications then than now. Police raided gay nightclubs, arrested patrons and tried to stop any type of gay public activities.

The first time we see Penn as Milk, it's 1970. He passes a young man on the stairs leading to the subway. Milk stops and strikes up a conversation. All involved - Milk, the young man and the audience - recognize what is going on. Flirting is universal, after all.

The young man is Scott Smith (James Franco), and while he tells Harvey he doesn't date anyone older than 40, by the next morning the two are lovers and soon to be living together.

Milk begins to think about the fact that he's 40 and has never done anything he could be proud of. For a change of scenery, he and Scott move to San Francisco and open a camera store in the Castro district, and Milk begins to look around. Frustrated by the fact that gays are afraid to come out of the closet, Milk becomes a community activist. Some people in the community want him to tone things down, keep a low profile. But he's a man driven. He runs for a seat on the city's Supervisor's Board and loses, twice. He runs for the state House of Representatives, and loses.

All the while, he is stepping up his activism, the mood of the country is changing and Milk is attracting a following. Even if he's angry, frustrated and obsessive, there is a kindness to him.

Penn and Van Sant bring this to the screen without a misstep.

In 1977, the same year orange juice spokesperson Anita Bryant is on her anti-gay campaign, Milk wins a seat on the San Francisco board. He's well liked by most members on the board; even a rabble-rouser has an affable side. Local issues soon take a backseat to a proposed statewide referendum declaring that any teachers in California's school system found to be gay will lose their jobs. Milk organizes against the proposal. And it is defeated statewide.

There are many, many subplots - Milk's relationship with fellow board member Dan White is the kicker - and richly developed scenes that are better seen than read about. On the off chance the reader isn't aware of how the story ends, I end the review by saying "Milk," Van Sant and Penn are already front-runners in the race for Oscar.

"Happy-Go-Lucky"

In the opening scene of Mike Leigh's new film "Happy-Go-Lucky," we see a smiling woman on a bike weaving through London. Her clothes, her big-tooth grin, and the way she rides the bike all combine to let us know this woman is either extremely happy, medicated or a bit touched.

It turns out that Poppy, as she is called, played by Sally Hawkins, is a bit of all three.

Hawkins, like Penn, is perfectly cast. She was actually cast before Leigh even had an idea of what the character would be like. It's one of his methods. He assembles a cast, helps them formulate their characters and after months of improvisation begins putting a story and script together.

After the bike scene, Poppy goes into a bookstore staffed by a very surly clerk. She tries to get a smile from him to no avail. She then tries to rile him. Picking up a book called "The Road to Reality," she giggles, "Don't wanna go there."

Poppy is a kindergarten teacher, a perfect job for the character. She romps with the kids as if she was one of them. She's childlike but not simple. She's sweet - absolutely so - but not syrupy.

The main plot (it's hard to describe Leigh's improvisational storylines) is anchored on the driving lessons she must take after her bike is stolen. She thinks it's a lark, much to the chagrin of her uptight instructor, Scott. Scott and Poppy are emotional polar opposites and as the film develops, so do Scott's emotions. At one point he's almost foaming at the mouth as he screams at her, "You celebrate chaos!"

There are connecting scenes where more of Poppy's personality shines through: A frenetic flailing about at her flamenco class; the way she handles a schoolyard bully (with a flash of anger); a trampoline accident; and a visit to her sister's house.

Not all movies are for everyone and if you only love loud, special effects-laden action films with blinding edits, "Happy-Go-Lucky" is probably not going to make you happy. It's a well-developed piece whose characters all seem like someone you know.

If you need an antidote to the holiday hubbub, this film is soothing indeed.

Hawkins has already won the Best Actress Award from both the New York Film Critics Circle and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Watch for her at Oscar time.

Jim Wunderle owns Wunderle Sound Services and is a Springfield freelance writer and musician. He can be reached at info@wunderlesound.com.