Milk: Deeply Satisfying

It takes a lot for any film to penetrate my icy cold heart, but this one had me on the verge of possibly having a lump in my throat.

Milk tells the story of Harvey Milk, who at the age of 47 became the first openly gay person to be elected to office in the United States, only to be assassinated within his first year as city supervisor.

Milk is played with fantastic energy and genuine emotion by Sean Penn, clearly angling to pick up a few awards with his sensitive portrayal of an often naive man who simply wanted to make the world a more fair and equal place, not only for homosexuals, but for ethnic minorities, children and the elderly too. The supporting cast of bright, young actors help to draw the viewer into their counter-culture world, where pot-smoking hippy ideology collides with the relentless political machinery of local and state government. James Franco, in particular, is a delight in his underplayed performance as Milk’s lover who introduces him to the world of political revolution and then watches helplessly as he looses Harvey to the frenzied masses. Emile Hirsch, similarly, is a bright spark in the production, embodying the youth and sass of the 1970s San Francisco gay movement.

Josh Brolin returns with another stand-out performance, following last year’s impressive turn as George W. Bush in Oliver Stone’s W. Here he plays the disenfranchised Irish Catholic colleague of Milk’s, Dan White, who struggles to reconcile his aversion to homosexuality with his fondness and admiration for Harvey as a politician and friend. Brolin could have been lazy and played White simply as the villain of the piece, but his portrayal is measured and authentic and allows the viewer to understand his confusion and disappointment, both in himself and in the system he was raised to believe in.

The key to this films success is the combination of amazing performances with skilful, simple direction by Gus Van Sant. Van Sant is known for being somewhat avant garde, but here he keeps the narrative straightforward and more-or-less linear, expertly interweaving archive footage with the film’s story. He doesn’t try to distract the viewer from the powerful story to be told, he simply sets up the uneasy political and social atmosphere of the time and then allows this particular thread of history to unfold. There are some beautifully shot sequences, but they are not flashy or showy, they add to the telling of the story rather than distract from the emotions of the characters. We are constantly reminded that we are watching history unfold, and to remind us that everything we have just seen is an interpretation of historical fact, the film ends with a montage of images of the real people who participated in the story of Harvey Milk.

I cannot recommend this film highly enough. It is an excellently directed, beautifully shot and superbly acted window into the past, which reminds us that gay rights are still as big an issue as they were 41 years ago when Harvey Milk was killed.

Other great  real life political dramas:

• Frost/Nixon
• W.
• Valkyrie
• Gomorra