Milk

This biography drama opens the world up to a story that many of us are ignorant of.  I admit I was foolishly not familiar with this piece of history, until it turned Hollywood.  And I’m glad that it did.  Let’s just say gay rights activism isn’t exactly plugged into history books.  NOW is the time that it should be.  Sean Penn gives a performance of a lifetime and could not better demonstrate this vital piece of historical events.  Milk is a powerful film that no one should miss out on.

The film traces the life of Harvey Milk, played by the amazing Sean Penn.  Harvey leaves the closet and his New York home to open a camera shop in the city’s Castro District in San Fransisco.  The shop quickly becomes home for the growing gay community.  Harvey organizes his new community of followers to use purchasing powers within his shop and build political alliances.  Gay rights activism eventually turns to political activism, and with his campaign manager (and lover), Scott Smith (James Franco), Milk becomes the first openly gay man in the United States to run for a supervisor seat.  Many battles later, Milk eventually win the supervisory seat on the same day as his conservative counterpart, Dan White (Josh Brolin), wins the city’s conservative district.  The great debate is the 1978 fight against a statewide initiative to ban gays and their supporters from public schools.    Milk begins a battle with his adversary and history is made.

Sean Penn NEVER disappoints me, and I must say that his performance in Milk was immensely powerful and moving.  Apparently everybody else thought he did a pretty good job otherwise he would not have won an Oscar for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in 2009.  Kudos to James Franco, as well- his portrayal as the faithful lover was also an inspiration.  This bit of history is a glorious disaster, in that Harvey Milk was an inspiration for many individuals, and his ending is a tragedy that came way too soon.  Sean Penn portrayed a real man who changed our world and actually made people think and question the government.  He inspired change, which is something this world (and especially a world in the 1970s) needed and needs a lot of.  Milk is a four star, passionate film, that is beautifully created and is an accurate account of a story that has changed all of our lives.