Customer Reviews

Milk [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(160)
4 star:		(38)
3 star:		(24)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Gus Van Sant has always been an excellent if somewhat eclectic director. Although I have enjoyed his previous efforts, I was somewhat apprehensive when I heard he was undertaking a film biography of Harvey Milk. A gay figure of this importance, I thought, should be handled by someone a little more mainstream. Like many gay people, I am weary of gay-themed films that reach no one beyond a gay audience, and the message I would want to emerge from a film about Harvey Milk should be heard by everyone.

As if reading my mind, Mr. Van Sant has fashioned a film that is accessible to all, while approaching his subject with sharp focus and a singleness of purpose that is at once definitive and topical. A stunning achievement, MILK manages to make its point without ever being preachy or trite, while remaining as true to the facts as any film bio could ever hope to be.

The film opens with snippets of gay history that many young gay people, let alone a straight audience, may be shocked to discover. During the opening credits, a barrage of vintage film clips remind us that a scant 50 years ago, gay men, lesbians and transsexuals were subjected to violence, harassment, physical abuse, arrest and humiliation by the very people that most citizens look to for protection; i.e. the police and judicial authorities. The newsreel images of gay bar raids that open MILK project a surreal yet somehow eerily familiar atmosphere that seems to alternate between the bizarre and the barbaric. Many people today are not aware that, in the 1940's and 1950's, right here in the USA, gay people were arrested for simply patronizing a gay bar (newspaper headline: "Den of Perverts Busted"). Many of those arrested had their names and employers published in the morning paper (!), and often found themselves unemployed and unemployable, branded with the label of "deviate". It is this chilling fact of social injustice that clears the way for the film's swing into a very important piece of gay history.

Skillfully telling us the story of Milk's rise as a leader in the Castro Gay Community of San Francisco, Harvey Milk is seen throughout the film as a living, breathing flesh and blood person. Van Sant adroitly propels Sean Penn through a warts-and-all portrayal of a frail human being with an idealistic bent and a politician's savvy. As with any good film, it is difficult, if not impossible, to discern which is more impressive - the balance of a perfect cast and lovingly detailed direction weave their way through a seamless portrait of an important historical figure, yet we are somberly reminded that many people remember Harvey Milk solely for the "Twinkie" defense of his star-crossed killer. The end result is that gay audiences emerge from seeing this film with a sense of pride and purpose, while straight audiences leave with a better knowledge of who we (gay people) are, what we want, and what we are struggling for. By word of mouth I expected a thrilling cinematic experience; what I got was a surprisingly near-perfect motion picture and some of the best acting I've ever seen. I heartily recommend MILK to any straight person who wants to get a grasp on what the last 30 years of gay history were really all about, and any gay person who wants to feel good about themselves. MILK is a triumph. See it.

The movie portrays a brave man.The movie "Milk" showed that any man who stands by his principles, will always leave a lesson to be learned.

The advances that the Gay communities of California have made in the past 30 years started with the Harvey Milk story.I have been a San Francisco Police officer for 24 years.I am proud to have known a few very brave S.F.P.D. officers who happen to have been gay.

In this state,the advances made for gay people for their civil rights and equal rights,begin with the Milk story.

I was in the movie and I played a real police officer at a homicide scene.The murder of Robert Hillsbough. The hates crimes committed against gays in this city back in the 1970's were over the top.
I was honored to have, done my simple scene with Sean Penn.

I was honored to have been a member of that cast.Check out the cast on the web www.imdb.com

I know the damages that Dan White caused our city,and my Department.
It was a very sad day.

I can say this much about that tragic man.Besides being a former cop, and fireman a little talked about fact about Dan White. He was also a Viet Nam veteran.He served in the same unit that I was in in Viet Nam, the 173rd airborne. He served one year in the central highlands. We came home suffering along with 1000'S of other combat vets, suffering from P.T.S.D. He committed suicide after his release from prison. He was buried with full honors in the Veteran cemetery in San Bruno Calif.

It was not called that at the time of his trail. The fact that a man who was an Irish Catholic, a former Police officer, and a Viet Nam vet who could not, and did not seek help.The movie kind of showed that Milk made every effort to befriend Dan White.How Dan White did not understand that he was responsible to do the right thing. The murder of those two innocent men makes me sad, to know that In my life I walked the same paths.

I think a lot of school teacher's will be able to add this movie to list of movies that teach tolerance.As a straight guy, I was honored to be in the movie.I wanted people to understand tolerance.

Allow me to agree with at least one other reviewer that everyone should see this, especially those who think being gay is so far out of the mainstream that, as my father in law once said, "The Lord allowed AIDS to happen."

Harvey Milk. A man of whom I know little. I lived on the other side of the world when he died, in a city in which it was not unusual to run into eunuchs. I'd heard of him since, in reference to gayness, but never associated any importance to him. Then I saw that Sean Penn was playing Milk, so I told my spouse that we need to see it.

Milk, it seemed, lived a pretty conventional lifestyle, working for an insurance company in New York. According to the script, anyway, in 1970 he met a flame and they headed to the west coast. Despite local resistance, they set up shop in the Castro district of San Francisco (after "The Haight" had become riddled with crime, homelessness and the like). Milk then decided it was time to get politically active.

In this portion of the film, I thought for a while that I was going to suffer from motion sickness. The camera seemed to move quite rapidly, and cut from the scene they were shooting to a historical scene, and back. But I adjusted. And Milk lost the first election, then the second, then the third. That, believe it or not, didn't take too much time for the film to get across, except that Milk's lover, Scott (played by James Franco) left after he said he couldn't take another one. That's when the action started (!)

I'm not gay, and have never been terribly sympathetic to many of the gay causes. At least I never payed much attention to 'em. Yeah, I heard outrageous statements like I quoted above, but I just disregarded them. After this film, my spouse felt guilty that she didn't know much about the Milk case. I pointed out that she wasn't exposed to it much. Even to this day many of the gay "causes" aren't seen as so mainstream. They're seen as somewhat fringe. Some alleged "gay eccentricities" may have added to that exclusion, and I believe the film included that element. Indeed, that's why Harvey Milk decided to go to Orange County, CA, without his gay supporters, and debate State Senator Briggs, played by Dennis O'Hare, the proponent of Proposition 6, a gay rights provision to which gays were opposed, on his own terms. And it paid off! The proposition was defeated!

Throughout the film, Milk was reciting a testament into his tape recorder, to be played only if he were assasinated. I wish I knew whether Milk really did that or whether it was added to the film for "effect." Either way, it was the adhesive that kept the film together.

The historical clips also added to the film's credibility, especially those of Anita Bryant. After Bryant's success in some anti-gay initiatives around the country, Milk decided to bring her causes to the attention of the people of California, and that's where the Proposition 6 movement began.

There's so much I could say about the film. I don't want to cover anything of the murder case, as I'll give too much away. The acting was definitely Oscar material, especially for Sean Penn. The script and music were award-winning. But the reason I endorse it--especially for those most opposed to gay rights--is that it shows that those rights are no less constitutional or mainstream than the rights of blacks, women, or any other groups which have had to labor hard for the last 230 years!

Whether the film was timed to come out--no pun intended--after California's Proposition 8, I don't know. But it's well timed in terms of trying to educate people as to why those right should be guaranteed.

Today we have people like Keith Olbermann to editorialize on those who opposed Proposition 8. We can thank God for Harvey Milk, the "first openly gay" person in politics in the US, for having opened to doors for those contemporay editorials.

It's also, by the way, a testament to the cause of political activism in general; most activists find themselves in a rut deeper than that of Milk and his associates. This film may remind them to persist!

See this gem, and make sure those challenged by gay rights see it. Discuss it with them. Someday then we will be able to proclaim that "all men are created equal."

At this point, I think it's safe to say that we can all depend on Sean Penn. What an amazingly versatile actor, gifted with the ability to transform himself into virtually anyone from virtually any background. Even the God-awful 2006 remake of "All the King's Men" was made better by his portrayal of Willie Stark. He shines once again in Gus Van Sant's "Milk," a film that chronicles the final years of Harvey Milk, who became the first openly gay man to be elected into public office in California. Before his assassination in 1978, he managed to become a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and was the driving force behind a number of demonstrations that challenged many anti-gay initiatives. His story could not be more perfectly timed; I live in California, where, in the last election, a proposition to ban same-sex marriage (Prop 8) was put on the ballot. I'm sorry to say that it passed (although, as of the date of this writing, the ruling is being challenged in California's Supreme Court).

But social and political commentaries aren't the sum of the film's parts. "Milk" is a rich, enlightening character study, probing deeply into the minds of very different people. This brings me back to Sean Penn, who certainly had his work cut out for him as the title character. As an activist, Milk was such a unique personality--outrageous, bold, and even a bit theatrical, yet refreshingly earnest and straightforward at the same time. His beginnings, on the other hand, were much more conservative, and he kept it that way throughout most of his adult life. The story proper begins in 1970 on the eve of his fortieth birthday, at which point he's an insurance statistician in New York City. On the steps of a deserted subway station, he meets Scott Smith (James Franco). The two quickly become lovers, move to San Francisco, and open a camera shop in the Castro district.

And yet, something is missing for Milk. "I'm forty years old," he observes, "and I haven't done a thing I'm proud of." Tired of guarding his sexuality and sick of the way law enforcement has been handling hate crimes, he soon establishes himself as a community activist, advocating equality for all. It isn't long before his political ambitions grow, and by 1975, he was ready to cut his hair, abstain from marijuana, and seriously pursue a position in city government. Three all-consuming, unsuccessful campaigns drive a wedge between Milk and Smith; by the time Milk is finally elected as a representative for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977, their relationship cools to a mere friendship. At this point, Milk has recruited Cleve Jones (Emile Hirsch), a young activist, and Anne Kronenberg (Alison Pill), a lesbian campaign manager. They do whatever they can to rally supporters, especially now that Milk is trying to pass a city ordinance that would protect people--many of them teachers--from being fired because of their sexual orientation. He faces an uphill battle with the Christian Right, specifically Senator John Briggs (Denis O'Hare) and singer/former orange juice spokeswoman Anita Bryant (seen only in actual archival news footage).

He faces a battle of a different kind with Dan White (Josh Brolin), a Board Supervisor Milk suspects of being a closeted homosexual, despite his staunch anti-gay stance. Indeed, there's something both odd and desperate about White's behavior towards Milk, inviting him to his son's christening, showing up at Milk's birthday party drunk and shouting that he's got issues too. As White grows more and more resentful of Milk and his inner circle of political allies--specifically Mayor George Moscone (Victor Garbor)--we see less of a political figure and more of a man on the brink of emotional collapse.

There's a fascinating association between the film's political message and Van Sant's cinematic creativity. A few select moments are true narrative masterstrokes, and they each involve quiet yet profound reflections in shiny objects. One of the earliest takes place early in Milk's political career, at which point gays in San Francisco were issued whistles; when Milk arrives at the crime scene of a murdered young man, his conversation with a police officer is shown entirely as a reflection off of a blood stained whistle. Another moment takes place much later on in White's living room, after Milk had established himself as a prominent politician. White's television set displays Milk in the middle of a news interview; we see White's reflection in the bottom left corner of the screen, and while we don't know what he's thinking, we do know that he's interested in what Milk is saying.

One of the most striking subplots involves Milk and his new lover, Jack Lira (Diego Luna), who quickly proves that he's ill-equipped to handle Milk's rising political clout. He's painfully insecure, and it only gets worse as Milk's schedule goes from heavy to full. Lira clings to Milk like a frightened animal, which is understandable but also pathetic. The real sorrow comes from the fact that Milk was too busy fighting a good fight to take any notice. What if he didn't have anything to fight against? What if there was no discrimination? "Milk" will no doubt inspire many people, but it's also likely to infuriate many others. If you're like me, then you might feel a little bit of both. Why are we still at a point where equality has to be fought for? Are we not in the twenty-first century? Shouldn't we have gotten over this issue a long time ago? It's sad to leave a movie theater and realize that not much has changed in thirty years.

I totally agree with Amos Lassen in his long synopsis.

I was there when Harvey Milk became a Supervisor, I was there when he was assassinated, I am still there long after, and I will never get over this tragedy. Unbelievable movie. Everyone should see this movie.

I have noticed that the "1" and "2" starred reviews for "Milk" have been deleted and that disturbs me. Even if some ignorant pinhead writes something predictable such as "Sean Penn is a traitor" or "Hollywood is shoving the gay lifestyle down our throats" or "this goes against American values" there is such a thing as freedom of speech and even the simple minded have a right to be heard.

That being said "Milk", the latest movie by gifted director Gus Van Sant, is a success in every way. The movie tells the story of Harvey Milk, a man who ran for San Fransisco city supervisor several times, and lost, but eventually won an election in 1978. The reason why this was such a controversial election, of course was that Harvey Milk was a gay man who made no apologies for his sexual orientation. Although Milk is by no means a perfect human being he fights of challenges from the religious and conservative right who believed homosexuals were deviants and should not be allowed to be school teachers or belong in a 'civilized' society.

Harvey Milk is presented not as a man who is trying to shove anything in anyone's face, but as a man who is sick of being told there is something wrong with him and who wants the freedom to live without being told he is sick or he has some disease.

They key to the movie's greatness is, of course, Sean Penn's performance as Milk. Never once did I think I was watching Sean Penn pretend to be Harvey Milk. I was watching Harvey Milk the entire time. The key to a great performance is when you can forget this is an actor playing a character, the rest of the cast, including James Franco and Josh Brolin, also do an outstanding job.

"Milk" is not gay cinema. It's just great cinema.

Peace

There's not much I can really add to the reviews that have already been given to this movie, so I'll simply echo its brilliance and importance and the way it grabs onto your attention, and your emotions, and never lets go. There is some amazing acting to be found here and no one over-acts or under-acts. Sean Penn was extremely deserving of his Oscar; I can't tell you how happy I was when his name was called, as when as when best original screenplay one the Oscar.

I really hope more people will give this movie a chance now that it's out on DVD. There are no more excuses to be made!

Milk is a reverential and loving portrayal of the Mayor of Castro Street, the late Harvey Milk, a man who was indeed both a product of his time and a man ahead of his time. And perhaps in this reverence we find the greatest flaw of the movie.

Sean Penn certainly deserved the Oscar as it is a nuanced performance, though I can't say that the screenplay deserved the accolades it has received. Likewise I don't understand why Josh Brolin was nominated as it was a spectacularly un-memorable and one-note performance (due, in large part, to it being written that way.) Emile Hirsch and James Franco (the latter being someone I don't really care for) were excellent.


Perhaps the main problem I had with the film is that Milk himself was portrayed rather saintly, so as far as a representation of the man, I thought it was written rather one-dimensionally. And knowing a bit of his biography, he wasn't as saintly as he was portrayed. Certainly he did many good things, but the film seems to focus solely on that and not other aspects of his personality. In all, this was probably expected considering that to the screenwriter, Milk was nearly a patron saint. Still, it would have been nice to see more dimensionality. Had they delved more into the relationship between Milk and the "A-gays" I think we would have seen that more. Also, if we'd seen more of the political maneuverings, we would have seen a more rounded, more real-person Milk.

Another problem I had was that there was, apparently, only one lesbian in San Francisco. Where were all the Lesbians? Likewise, there were two Asian guys and one off-balance Latino guy in San Francisco. Even the "extras" were peopled with mostly white people. Yes, I know that Milk's inner circle was primarily white guys, but people of color were instrumental during that fight and it really bothered me that in a story set in one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the country, during a battle in which people of color were instrumental, it all comes of rather...white. Even the city itself comes off rather white. This as well was a big problem for me.

As a piece of film making, Milk works and it is well enough crafted. As a piece of gay film making, it does a pretty nice job of giving a positive portrayal of gay men, something sorely lacking in mainstream films. They just missed some dimensionality, the gay women and the people of color, and those omissions, to me, were major, major faults with the film.

Not brilliant, Milk is certainly a film worth watching for both its artistic value and for documenting a time which was an important milestone in American history.

Milk is an excellent movie. Sean Penn gives a moving performance as city supervisor and gay rights activist Harvey Milk. I love Gus Van Sant's direction. The shots of San Francisco's Castro district in the seventies. look very authentic. I love the candlelit vigil shot at the end of the movie. The performances by everyone in this movie are so good. I love James Franco in his role as Harvey Milk's boyfriend. Josh Brolin plays rival Dan White perfectly. I love Danny Elfman's score and the songs "Everyday People" and "Rock The Boat". Everything about the film is flawless. I can't wait for the DVD.

When we first see Harvey Milk (Sean Penn) he is still living a closeted life (closeted to family, to friends, and to his business associates). It is only when he meets the much younger and much more liberated Scott Smith (James Franco) on the eve of his fortieth year that he realizes that he needs to make a change. And what a change it is. As soon as he steps out of the closet he has been living in for the first forty years of his life and into San Francisco's Castro district where openly gay men walk hand in hand and kiss in public he is transformed into another person: a liberated gay bohemian man of the seventies. And Van Sant records this moment of transformation brilliantly by allowing us to see the Castro and its colorful inhabitants through the lens of Milk's own camera. These early scenes (in which Van Sant splices vintage footage of the lively and swinging Castro of the seventies with his own recreated footage) are the most magical of the entire film. The music for this section (glam rock) is also perfectly selected. Along with everything else that this film is, its also an homage to the heyday of American cinema and music and culture of the seventies. Milk feels such a sense of joy and liberation living in the Castro that he is doubly annoyed when he sees instances of prejudice against gay men. His response is not to attack his enemies but to befriend them ( a tactic that he would employ throughout his short, albeit profoundly impactful, political career). Milk organizes his community and combats prejudice by boycotting intolerant businesses. Along the way he even forms an unikely alliance with the teamsters. What drives each political maneuver is the desire to create a community where gay men can feel safe being themselves and living their lives. His life thereafter becomes a mission to eradicate prejudice against gay citizens and to afford them the same civil rights granted all other social groups.

After several unsuccesful bids Milk eventually becomes a city supervisor. And much of the film follows the campaigns and the various tactics employed by his colorful team of strategists. His sense of the rightness of his mission and his empathy (which extends to all of the ignored, oppressed and under-represented members of society) make him a huge hit on the public stage. But his sense of fun (he openly flirts with everyone) and his sense of politics as street theatre and spectacle (his platform includes an ordinance that requires people to pick up their dogs waste and to bring attention to the issue he pretends to step in a pile of it) is what charms the reporters and make him a local media star. The fact that he is the first openly gay politician makes him a target for the "Anita Bryant" set (who are making the rounds in the country and placing anti-gay initiatives on ballots throughout the nation) but the fact that he is a media sensation who commands both local and national attention (and the respect of fellow politicians and local media bigwigs ie Advocate magazine...) is what makes him the target of fellow politican Dan White (Josh Brolin). Ironically, the more visible the gay community becomes as it defines its humanitarian mission on larger and larger stages the more invisible and marginalized the straight, white, middle-class-dad-with-wife-and-two-kids Dan White feels.

But the film does not play like a tragedy. Even though (like MLK) Milk seems to instinctively know what the last act will be (well more than instinctively as he received numerous death threats throughout the late seventies), he never sees himself as a victim or a martyr to a cause. Instead, Milk views his life as a triumph and not as a personal triumph but as a people's triumph for he knows that it was his circle of friends and intimates as well as the community that he served that allowed him to become Harvey Milk. And he loves being that person to the very last moment. That is what the film leaves you with: a sense of an individual who blossomed along with the community that he helped create.

Penn as Milk is astonishing, funny, fragile, charming, clever, courageous, sometimes frustrated and sad, sometimes manically alive ...Penn provides the viewer with a complete person (something biopics rarely do) who is defined not simply by "an issue" but by a personality that transcends the pitfalls of issue films and biopics (that treat their subjects with too much reverence and make them seem therefore more like symbols than flesh and blood people). We leave the theatre loving Milk not because he is a hero but because we feel he is or was human just like us.

Brolin's Dan White remains a blank page. I learned more about Dan White from listening to Josh Brolin speak about him on Charlie Rose than I learned from his actual performance which is as opaque as the man himself probably was.

Emil Hirsch as a prissy street hustler turned savvy strategist is a revelation. James Franco as the main love interest is all tender and (mostly) supportive smiles. Diego Luna is also memorable as a secondary and therefore chronically insecure/unstable love interest. But all of the supporting characters are worthy of attention and praise. Its the supporting cast that makes this the rich experience that it is. For it is ultimately a film not only about Milk but a film about the community that he loved and that in turn loved him.

Brilliant.

I would mention award potential but who cares about award shows.