No masterpiece

Rating: 6/10 (13 March 2009)

It's often difficult to provide commentary on a movie with such a heated topic. It seems that whatever you say, you're always conscious that someone may consider you a "homophobe" (whatever that is) or that you're skirting the issue. However, I feel I have a pretty good compass as a movie fan: I can judge a film strictly on its own merits. Having said that, I rate "Milk" as a slightly better-than-average biopic, not a masterpiece, as breathless critics fell over themselves to proclaim. Again, I feel the same way about actors. While I personally despise everything Sean Penn stands for, I've always said I believe he is one of our finest actors today. However, I still didn't feel he put in Oscar-worthy work here. The movie just seemed to drag in parts and, while it held my interest, it just didn't enrapture me.