Impressive biographical drama

Rating: 7/10 (18 February 2010)

Recap: A dramatization of Harvey Milk's life leading up to his election as San Francisco supervisor and ultimately his murder. The movie starts with Harvey and boyfriend Scott Smith moving to Castro opening their own business Castro Camera. The couple soon become frustrated with the discrimination against them and the abuse gay people suffer from the police. With anti-homosexual winds blowing over the nation, with several laws and propositions specifically targeting homosexuals, Milk spearheads a movement in San Francisco for human rights in general and gay rights specifically. And as the first openly homosexual, he gets elected to a public office.
Comments: A very well made, almost documentarian, drama about the last years of Milk's life. Sean Penn did win an Academy Award for Best Actor (along with Dustin Lance Black for Best Screenplay) and I must say that his performance is impressive. But he is not alone, on the contrary the cast is rather large, and most of them acts very well too. Josh Brolin's nomination for Best Supporting Actor is not undeserved, but they were more. James Franco had an important role and did very well.
The issues at hand is very important too, and the movie handles them well, presenting them both in a historical context with actual footage but also how individuals feel and react to them in the dramatization. And as for a biography it was as entertaining as they can be, much to Milk's own humor, but mostly it is very interesting.
I expected that a biographical movie like this would be slow and almost dull, but it certainly wasn't. This is a movie worth seeing.
7/10