Milk (2008)

The heartbreaking story of gay activist Harvey Milk, who became the first openly gay official to be elected into office in the U.S.

Set during the 1970s in San Francisco, Sean Penn plays Harvey Milk, a forty-year-old homosexual who moves from New York to the West Coast with his lover Scott Smith (James Franco). Once there, Milk becomes somewhat of a leader for the gay scene, and soon tries his hand at politics, which, during this era, was harshly opposed to same-sex relationships.

Milk comes up against all kinds of prejudice and hatred, in particular from those politicians who condemn his sexuality as an act of heresy. Also, Harvey finds an unstable alliance with a fellow politician called Dan White (Josh Brolin), whose attitude towards Harvey’s lifestyle is aggressively confused.

Harvey Milk becomes more and more influential as he rises through the power structure, but must balance his place as a gay rights leader, with his private life.

It is a superb film for its stark representation of a turbulent period in American history. The gay rights protests coincided with a lot of other human rights issues which were flaring up all over the nation, and this film manages to capture the tension of the era spectacularly.

Sean Penn gives an amazing performance as Harvey, portraying the idealism of his character alongside his vulnerability perfectly. There is so much depth and complexity to Milk that it is a film that deserves several watches.

Gus Van Sant, the director, has created some stunning moments in the movie, in particular the use of photo snap shots which come to life in the opening section of the film. This created a sense of history coming to life which was a lovely entrance into the compelling story.

A few moments of the film are a bit brief, skipping over parts that seem important, but, like all films with a historical foundation, they can never fully represent everything that happened. Furthermore, it just works to inspire viewers to carry on and research the events for themselves.

A worthy film, with a spectacular performance from the legendary Sean Penn.