Director: Gus Van Sant
Starring: Sean Penn, James Franco & Josh Brolin
A strong drama from Gus Van Sant detailing the life of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to government office featuring an impressive performance from Sean Penn as Harvey Milk.
On January 8th 1978, Harvey Milk, an openly gay man, was elected to become a member of the board of supervisors for the city of San Francisco. Harvey Milk was the first openly gay man to be elected into a government position. On November 27th 1978, Harvey Milk, along with Mayor Moscone were shot and killed by a former colleague, Dan White. In spite of his brief tenure on the board, Harvey was a hugely influential figure in the Gay Rights Movement and his election, in addition to his earlier efforts to champion for Gay Rights. Gus Van Sant, well-known for tackling subject matter such as homosexuality in his films, including the acclaimed My Own Private Idaho, is also openly gay. His own life experiences and his previous work have made him the ideal director for bringing the life of Harvey Milk to the cinema screen and has resulted in success. Milk is a very well-made, very emotional, very personal drama that highlights Harvey Milk’s humanity and that of those around him and highlights the struggles they faced that also doesn’t shy away from its subject matter.
Despite opening with news footage reporting of Harvey Milk’s assassination and having Sean Penn, as Milk, narrate the events of his life leading up his death as he records his memoirs, Milk never feels like a film doomed by the inevitable conclusion to Harvey Milk’s story as we go back to 1970 where the beginnings of Harvey Milk’s legacy to the Gay Rights Movement lay. Upon moving to San Francisco with his partner Scott Smith (James Franco), Milk becomes involved in the development of an area known as ‘The Castro’ into a gay-friendly neighborhood and to then, become involved, on several occasions, to be elected to public office to both improve the district in which he lives and to fight for equal rights for Gay people. Despite facing threats and criticisms, Milk succeeds to further his cause and the successes, no matter how small, alongside Milk’s continued optimism and drive, make his story and the film enjoyable. Milk also never demonizes those that opposed the Gay Rights Movement. Known opponents of Gay Rights are rarely seen in the film, most only seen through actual news footage included in the film. A similar approach is used to represent the era as Van Sant wisely avoids relying upon music or pop culture references to remind us of the era and focusing on the characters and their story allowing their interactions to generate a believable sense of community.
Milk also features several strong performances. Sean Penn, well known for playing serious dramatic roles, but also for playing them with a heavy sense of drama, is a revelation here. The smiling, cheery, optimistic attitude of Harvey Milk has been captured effectively and impresses even more as it is a character and performance so unlike those Penn’s has played recently. There are subtle gestures in the performance that do show the weight and pain that Harvey Milk had suffered and still suffered but with the character’s warmth still prevalent. In addition to Penn are strong turns from James Franco as Milk’s partner Scott, Emile Hirsch as a young, frequent contributor to Milk’s campaigns and also from Josh Brolin as Dan White, Milk’s colleague and the man who would kill him. Brolin’s performance is impressive here. Dan White could have easily been represented as a monster but here he is a frustrated man who reaches out to Milk for support but their opposing political views prevent Milk from providing him the political support White desired. White blames Milk for his own failures leading to the tragic deaths of Milk and Mayor Moscone after White loses his job. While Dan White’s actions are not excused, he is still a somewhat tragic figure also making the eventual climax of the film, Milk’s death and its aftermath even more emotionally powerful.
Overall Milk is an excellent drama and worth watching. The performances are strong and the handling of the subject matter will hopefully open some eyes to the struggle of a, still poorly treated, minority and generate sympathy and Penn’s performance as Harvey Milk is genuinely impressive.
Rating: 4/5
