Sean Penn in Milk

Milk was directed by Gus Van Sant, who also directed Elephant (2003) and Last Days (2005), the former suggestive of the Columbine High School shooting and the latter of the time before musician Kurt Cobain’s death. Milk tells the story of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay politician elected to office. He was elected as San Francisco City Supervisor in 1977.

Released not much more than a month after election day, when the country made strides forward with president-elect Barack Obama and a giant leap backwards with a ban on gay marriage in California and other states, the affect of Milk is all the more amplified.

Since the audience already knows how the story ends, Van Sant begins with the end. The film makes great use of archive footage, interweaving it with live action, and creating one cohesive piece.

The acting is impeccable, especially on the parts of Sean Penn (who I always adore) as Harvey Milk and Josh Brolin (who I usually find unconvincing) as Dan White. The cinematography is masterful, utilizing different types of cameras and techniques without becoming gimmicky. It’s a gripping and emotional story, made even more potent due to the circumstances of its release, but excellent on its own.

I think one of Gus Van Sant’s greatest talents is his ability to shed light on the humanity in every one of his characters. He is able to take touchy and painful subjects and attempt to demystify how or why they might have happened. He is able to help us learn from the past and apply it to the present.

After election day in November, many people on the news were explaining that the major cause of Proposition 8′s passing was the ignorance of many communities towards gay people. Harvey Milk explained in 1977:

We must destroy the myths once and for all, shatter them. We must continue to speak out, and most importantly, most importantly, every gay person must come out. As difficult as it is you must tell your immediate family, you must tell your relatives, you must tell your friends, if indeed they are your friends, you must tell your neighbors, you must tell the people you work with, you must tell the people in the stores you shop in (thunderous applause), and once they realize that we are indeed their children, that we are indeed everywhere, every myth, every lie, every innuendo will be destroyed once and for all. And once you do, you will feel so much better.

And now we wait until the judges in the Supreme Court do their jobs and uphold basic human rights. 5/5

Further reading:

• The New York Times: “Freedom Fighter in Life Becomes Potent Symbol in Death” by A.O. Scott
• The Boston Globe: “Power to the People” by Wesley Morris
• The San Francisco Sentinel: “Milk Movie Draws Rave Reviews” by Kilian Melloy
• The Los Angles Times: “Review: ‘Milk’” by Kenneth Turan
• The Huffington Post: “What Harvey Milk Tells Us About Proposition 8″ by Rob Epstein