Amazing performance by Sean Penn

Rating: 10/10 (31 December 2008)

One of the most remarkable things about Milk is how little controversy has surrounded it. Just three years ago, the release of Brokeback Mountain was met with boycotts from anti-gay activists and sparked picketing of theaters carrying the picture. By comparison, Milk has courted minimal outrage. This may change over the course of the next few weeks as it expands to a national release, and surely Fred Phelps will have more than a few kind words for it, but it's still rather remarkable that the film has managed to produce such little fervor from the public. Even a visit to its IMDb message board reveals far less heated discussions than were present for Brokeback.
Is it because it's a biographical film, rather than mere fiction? Probably not, since biographical films have been boycotted in the past, too. I tend to be optimistic on this topic, and like to think that the general public is becoming more comfortable with films like Milk. After all, in the Obama age, hasn't it become positive for us to be more open-minded and tolerant of others? The current generation spent its formative years in the Bush era, watching the Daily Show become more reliable than most reputable news sources. I don't mean to sound like Keith Olbermann, but American culture has changed rather distinctly within the past decade, and it's refreshing to see a great film judged on its artistic merits, of which it has many.
Harvey Milk was the first openly gay politician in American history, elected to office in San Francisco in 1977. He was assassinated by Dan White, a resigned city supervisor, in 1978. These are the textbook facts, but the movie sheds some light on Milk's personal life, painting a fair portrait of a complex man  from his relationship with a younger male, Scott Smith (James Franco), to his journey into politics, to his untimely demise.
Sean Penn's performance as Milk is almost certain to earn him an Oscar nomination. He seemingly channels the spirit of Milk, completely disappearing into character. It's a great performance, but not surprisingly so  Penn has become consistent enough that even in his lesser films he manages to create brilliant work, so it's no shocker to witness what he does with Milk. It's a testament to his strengths as an actor that you find yourself acknowledging Harvey Milk not as a mere character, or as a Sean Penn impression, but as a real person; you don't, at any time, actually feel like you're watching an actor on screen. The only other lead acting performance that may come close to this one in the year-end Oscar race is Mickey Rourke's turn in The Wrestler, with both performances focusing on what are essentially tormented and misunderstood souls.
The supporting cast is up to par, too. Franco, as Milk's true love, is given slightly less to do with a character who vanishes for most of the film's middle portion, but with his work here and a great comedic performance in this year's Pineapple Express, Franco is fast establishing himself as a true talent. Emile Hirsch, as real-life activist and campaign worker Cleve Jones, turns in a humorous but affecting performance that probably won't win him any supporting standalone recognition from Penn, but helps reinforce Hirsch's direction towards becoming one of the best actors of his generation. It must also be said that Josh Brolin handles the thankless task of portraying the relative "villain" of the film, Dan White, with all the despair of a tragic hero. We feel that White's early intentions are earnest and goodwilled  he even invites Milk to his child's baptism  but as the events progress, Milk becomes distanced from White's policies, and White falls from glory, resigning from his position after what he perceives to be a public embarrassment at the hands of Milk, and then  after pleading to have his job back  is met with dismissal. White doesn't seem "evil" or even all that unlikeable  just unstable, with repressed feelings (in more ways than one, as the film implies) and a fairly dark side. We don't hate him, by the end of the film, because he is given a remarkable amount of depth despite Brolin's limited screen time.
One could view this film as a passion project for director Gus Van Sant, who had subsided into independent films for a few years after the mainstream successes of Good Will Hunting and Finding Forrester, but perhaps found identification with the themes of Milk. The movie arrives at an opportune time, with its focus on the Prop 6 controversy in the 1970s immediately finding relevance with the current Prop 8 vote. Some of the vintage news footage shown in the movie, featuring interviews with anti-gay activists of the time like Anita Bryant, seem amusingly dated  until you realize how they, too, are uncomfortably relevant in our day and age.
Ultimately, the movie tells us that Harvey Milk wanted to bring about change, and shows us how he made quite an impact during his short-lived political career. The film serves him justice, and  thanks to a faultless cast and a great director  is one of the best of the year.