Having lived through this period, this is a rather personal and emotional film to me. This film did not make a lot of money, which is a shame as this is a history of how gay men & women have progressed to where they are today. People like Harvey Milk are responsible for the evolution of civil rights and he deserves to be remembered for what he achieved during his short time. As a film, this is remarkably well written, though some things and characters are necessarily sketchy simply due to time constrictions. The archival footage is wonderful and harsh and to today's young LGBTQ people the footage of being dragged off to jail, being beaten, being crucified by the church must seem unbelievable, though the latter certainly is still going full steam, though ultimately it will be to no avail. If watching this film and then taking a look at where LGBTQ are people today does not show to the entire country how the advancement of these people's civil rights has been an ongoing growing achievement then they are both being seen through blind eyes. This is not a cinematic masterpiece, though Gus Van Sant's career is full of fascinating films, but it a very intelligent, extremely well made and mostly brilliantly acted film. I have never been a big fan of Sean Penn, but this is his ultimate triumph. He just simply morphs into this role and is a complete delight to behold. Josh Brolin is also excellent. He is never written or played as a villain, though he ultimately is. James Franco gives a warm, loving and sincere performance. This is an important as well as entertaining piece of civil rights history and while the most well known comment made by Milk has always been "My name is Harvey Milk and I am here to recruit you", the most important line in this movie is based on the Declaration of Independence. All men are created equal. No matter how hard you try, you can never erase those words.
Review of Milk
