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Sean Penn’s portrayal of Harvey Milk is a once-in-a-lifetime role that both fully transforms the typically straight-faced actor and drives the entire film. “Milk” the movie is, in turns, inspiring and political, fabulous and slow, but Milk the character is an absolute joy to watch.
The plot focuses on the last eight years of the life of Milk, the first openly gay man elected to major public office in the U.S. With new beau Scott Smith (James Franco, also a thrill to behold), Milk moves from New York to San Francisco for a change of pace and, hopefully, acceptance.
With radiant perseverance and a perpetual smile, the peer-christened “Mayor of Castro Street” runs for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors year after year. Milk sacrifices personal relationships for the greater good he’s dying to achieve – equal rights and acceptance for homosexuals, using San Francisco as the first building block toward a more tolerant America.
Milk is the type of man who, when told he can’t make everyone accept homosexuality overnight, only smiles and asks “Why not?” He’s also one who can compassionately take a phone call from a random distressed young man looking for support and, moments later, use his communicational genius to relate to thousands of angry protestors on the street.
Director Gus Van Sant elicits exceptional performances and recreates the uncanny backdrop of 1970s. Recurring reflection shots – in television sets, windows, a slain homosexual’s silver whistle on the street – both visually astound and capture the trying turbulence of stereotyped identities.
Josh Brolin’s oppositional role as crass city supervisor Dan White is sympathetic. He’s never an outright enemy of Milk, but he is a complex, pained thorn in the side of Milk’s revolutionary plans.
Milk’s cadre of pals (including Emile Hirsch, Diego Luna and Lucas Grabeel, of “High School Musical”) begin as groupies in his camera shop and end up shaping the gay-friendly policies and attitudes of modern San Francisco. They maintain the film’s anything-can-happen positivity headed by Milk. Dustin Lance Black’s original screenplay resonates hope and equality, and how both are continually fine-tuned in America for the disenfranchised receiving neither. Milk’s zest for life and liberty is inspiring.
Although “Milk” brings a message of hope and paints delightful, nuanced characters, its politically-dominated plot sometimes deters the enjoyment. The collective effort of a great cast, Penn’s incredible work and Van Sant’s insightful direction result in a fine film and a worthy testament to the life of an unforgettably influential man.
Grade: B+
