A gorgeous conventional biopic paying homage to the movement and the man

Rating: 9/10 (26 December 2008)

Surely, Gus Van Sant was aware that Harvey Milk's life and the gay rights struggle were not his to play around with, cinematically. They are public property, and Van Sant handles them as such.
As a result, he has made a straightforward (as straight as a movie about Milk could be) and easy-to-follow movie that is sure to please any audience who doesn't hate the gays. No sudden twists or turns, no lingering shots (although "Gerry" is still tied with "Drugstore Cowboy" for my favorite Van Sant film) -- just an action-packed life story. I found myself repeatedly wondering how the director was able to stuff so much into one film.
The atmosphere of 1970s S.F. is amazing; I'm too young but felt like I remembered it anyway. Many scenes look like shots from my parents' rolls of film when I was a child.
But the star of this movie is Sean Penn. He is in nearly every scene, nearly every minute, and so he has to inhabit Milk, not just "portray" him or "mimic" him. And he pulls it off amazingly. I was convinced he was Milk. An Oscar-worthy performance if I've ever watched one. The look in his eyes, the wrinkle of his smile, every tiny thing feels genuine and human.
I only have one complaint with the film: the formal structure of having Milk reading his story into a tape recorder. I guess it made it easier to jump around in time and to put the story together the way Van Sant wanted or needed to, but it felt clunky and unnecessary. It also led to Milk reading the lines of his famous speech instead of giving them to a crowd, which I would have preferred, but I guess I see the reason (without making it into a spoiler).
As others have pointed out, the sad ugliness of this film is that it documents a struggle from 30 years ago that is still happening today, in much the same terms. It is shameful that America has moved forward so little.
It is shameful that pastor Rick Warren could have told a crowd in Uganda in March 2008 that gays are unnatural and don't deserve full human rights -- and that he would still be invited to speak at Barack Obama's presidential inauguration.
It is shameful that people would still wonder whether the "all" in "all men are created equal" would apply to ALL or not.
It is shameful that gays are still beaten and killed in America, just for existing.
Perhaps this movie will help inspire a new generation of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning and intersex people to stand up and demand human dignity. I know I'm ready.
For me, the film made me cry a bunch, and it certainly accomplished what Milk demanded in his most famous speech -- "You gotta give 'em hope."