Sean Penn delivers one of the top performances in the decade!

Rating: 10/10 (22 March 2009)

I saw Milk a while back, I was really looking forward to it because I had written a paper in my history class on Harvey Milk. We were learning about movements in the 60's and 70's, as a straight female, I saw one of my friends struggling with his sexuality and how hard it was for society, his friends, his own family excepting him for who he was. I wanted to find out more on the history of how we had either moved forward or backwards when it came to rights for homosexuals. Reading Harvey Milk's story was sad but extremely inspirational and looking at what people said about him, he seemed like the most lovable guy in the world. He was funny, charming, and just a wonderful person to be around, it was extremely sad to find out how his life ended and over something so stupid. Milk is one of the best films of 2008, it was made with great taste and Sean Penn delivers the performance of a lifetime playing the infamous Harvey Milk.
Unsatisfied with his life and in need of a change, Harvey Milk decides to move to San Francisco with his boyfriend in hoping of a better acceptance. They open Castro Camera in the heart of Eureka Valley, a working class neighborhood in the process of evolving into a predominantly gay neighborhood known as The Castro. Frustrated by the opposition they encounter in the once Irish-Catholic neighborhood, Milk utilizes his background as a businessman to become a gay activist, eventually becoming a mentor for Cleve Jones. After two unsuccessful political campaigns in 1973 and 1975 to become a city supervisor and a third in 1976 for the California State Assembly, Milk finally wins a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977 for District 5. His victory makes him the first openly gay man to be voted into major public office in the United States. Milk subsequently meets fellow Supervisor Dan White, a Vietnam veteran and former police officer and firefighter. White, who is politically and socially conservative, has a difficult relationship with Milk. He has a growing resentment for Milk, largely due to the attention paid to Milk by the press and his colleagues. After working tirelessly against Proposition 6, Milk and his supporters rejoice in the wake of its defeat. The increasingly unstable White is in favor of a supervisor pay raise, but does not get much support, and shortly after supporting the proposition, resigns from the board. He later changes his mind and asks the city to rescind his decision. Mayor Moscone denies his request, after having been lobbied by Milk to not reinstate White, leading to some disturbing acts of violence.
I HIGHLY recommend that you watch Milk, this film was extremely moving and really makes you think before you say something stupid because someone else is different from you, not just sexually, but in general. It really breaks your heart to see how hard it must be for people who are different to express themselves and to be rejected by society. Sean plays Harvey with the love and compassion that the real Harvey would respect. We also have some terrific supporting actors: James Franco, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch, Diego Luna and Victor Garber. Milk was one of the best films of 2008, watch it, learn from it, and remember: do onto others as you would do onto yourself.
10/10