Good Will Hunting

Good Will Hunting didn't really work for me until Robin Williams was introduced. The opening scenes have an almost amateur vibe to them, hinting at talent from the performers and the production crew but not working quite right. Too much of that stuff has been parodied and referenced endlessly, and some scenes just flat out look terrible, like the ill-advised slow motion fight scene. It just feels like it's of a time and that I missed the boat on enjoying it while it was fresh.

But then Williams comes along and suddenly the whole movie gets a lot better. His performance is totally outstanding, and that's part of it. But everything else seems better too, like a switch has been turned on. It seemed like the script by stars Matt Damon and Ben Affleck was trying too hard at first to establish their story about Will Hunting, the genius from a broken home who could do anything if he got over his personal troubles. But after the fight, Will's only way to avoid jail time is to do math work at MIT where he was a janitor and see a therapist. Williams is the one who sticks, and from there they develop an interesting rapport at the same time that Will gets involved with a Harvard student played by Minnie Driver. The two storylines work well in tandem, as Williams tries to help Damon push through his barriers at the same time that he's attempting to do the same on his own.

The super-genius stuff almost feels tacked-on actually. It provides a reason for why Will's crippling personal issues are particularly devastating, not just to him but to the good he could do for the world, and also a couple opportunities for memorable, intricate monologues. But I didn't find it as compelling as the therapy or relationship stuff, or even just the scenes where he's hanging out with his regular Joe friends. Apparently the script started out as a thriller about the government trying to recruit a genius before it turned into what it is in the movie, so that part is actually the original seed of the whole thing. Still, it's not why I liked the movie. Williams deserved his Oscar, Damon is generally good as well, and while I had issues with some of what Gus Van Sant did, it's not a bad effort. I definitely liked it more than I thought I would after the first twenty or so minutes.

Milk

Milk is only the second Best Picture nomination of 2008 that I've seen, but I already disagree with the Academy's decision. Slumdog Millionaire was a good movie, but I think this was better. It was also quite relevant, as the current battle over Proposition 8 in California is very reminiscent of the Proposition 6 in the film. We still aren't where we should be with gay rights, but thanks to the work of people like Harvey Milk, it's only a matter of time.

Milk is the story of Milk, the first openly gay man elected to "major public office". This isn't a biopic about his whole life so much as just the important part, the decade in which he began to make a difference in his community. The film mixes scenes with the actors and real footage from the time effectively, grounding it in the period. It took me some time to get into it, but I ended up being riveted by the performances and the story. I think Mickey Rourke's performance in The Wrestler was probably better, but Sean Penn is pretty brilliant as the titular character, and I don't think it was a robbery so much as a different pick. Plus, the rest of the film around Penn was more successful. Franco and Hirsch were both good, and Josh Brolin seemed perfect in the role. I'm not sure where he came from but he's got a nice career going.

I can't give this post the full attention I would normally because we're in the middle of E3mania right now. I will say though that the climactic scene is completely brilliant. The film makes no secret of the fact that Harvey and the Mayor are both assassinated, but the way it all comes together is about as well as you can do it in cinema. Every single shot has a purpose, and the sense of dread as you realize what is happening is palpable. The whole movie makes really good use of reflections at times of importance, and you can tell when something's going down just from how it's filmed. As both a film and political message, Gus Van Sant created a real triumph.