"My name is Harvey Milk and I'm here to recruit you!"

Rating: 10/10 (10 March 2009)

Gus Van Sant has offered a truly exceptional film covering not only the life of Harvey Milk, but also the finest principles of America being put into action. I was really somewhat disappointed that Van Sant had to go for an R rating because I think "Milk" could have been a staple for young Americans looking for a sense of civic pride. Maybe it wasn't Van Sants or Sean Penn's intent but I really think this film is an uplifting experience. I was genuinely inspired by this film.
The success of the picture really begins and ends with Sean Penn and his amazing performance as Harvey Milk. I saw Penn's Academy Award acceptance speech and he came off very preachy, which sort of dismayed me before I sat down to watch the film. I tell you he should have given the speech in character as Harvey Milk because he embodies this character and what he stood for in his performance. Milk is Penn's finest character role. Like it or not homosexuality has been a difficult topic to portray on film. Brokeback Mountain was groundbreaking in the fact that it was such a huge success. What Penn's challenge is is to show Harvey Milk not only as a Gay Civil Rights leader standing up for a cause, no this is too easy, he has to show Milk as a product of his times.
Josh Brolin's Dan White is also a product of his times, but he is finding that time is moving against him. White is as hard to portray as Milk because we know the tragic end he will face. Van Sant shows up front that Harvey will die by using footage of the announcement of his assassination by having Penn tell the story in a recorded will to be played after his assassination. We know that White will murder Milk but their relationship is probably the most compelling of the film. The scenes between Penn and Brolin are brilliant, these actors know how to play off each other quite well. Penn shows Harvey wanting to gain the respect of Dan White despite the fact that they will never see eye to eye. Brolin's White is horribly jealous of Harvey and the love he receives from his followers. Brolin doesn't try to make White a simple cut out homophobic Christian and it really strengths the character. He all ways seems as if he has something bearing down on him and he used politics as a way to gain some form of acceptance.
To Van Sant's credit he understands that Milk is a period piece. It has a very authentic feel and the staging of the events is pitch perfect. My greatest compliment is the fact that he used actual footage of the issues at hand. He could of very easily gotten an actress to portray Anita Bryant or the witness to the police brutality but using this footage grips us in the picture. We want Harvey to succeed because we see that the events around him are real. Even though we are dealing with a historical event, the narrative is strengthen by showing the reactions to the times.
Milk is an important film. It does what it sets out to do, not make people necessarily support Harvey Milk's ideals but to think about people can make a difference. Harvey Milk didn't live a long life full of exciting events but he is an important figure in what he symbolizes, the fight for America to recognize it's creeds of liberty and freedom for all the "Us'es" out there. Milk captures this brilliantly in it's spirit