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In 1970, when insurance salesman Harvey Milk (Sean Penn) first met Scott Smith (James Franco), he was minutes away from turning 40—and he worried that he hadn’t done anything to be proud of. Eight years later, seemingly predicting his own assassination, the controversial politician told his story to a tape recorder, looking back on the years since that important birthday—the years in which he’d transformed from an aimless hippie into an influential gay activist.
Director Gus Van Sant’s biopic, Milk, tells the true story of Harvey Milk’s rise from a shop owner to the “Mayor of Castro Street” to the first openly gay politician elected to office in California.
In 1972, Harvey and Scott open a camera shop on San Francisco’s Castro Street and is shocked to find that the other business owners refuse to welcome them into the local business association. Outraged by their reaction to his sexual orientation—as well as the neighborhood’s frequent violence against its numerous gay residents—Harvey first decides to run for City Supervisor in 1974. And while he can’t seem to win an election, through his campaigning and activism, he soon becomes an icon and a leader in the gay community.
Milk tells a moving and inspirational story about one of the “little guys” who managed to stand up for his rights and make a difference in his community and around the country. Though Van Sant has been working to make this movie for fifteen years—with actors like James Woods and Robin Williams in talks to play the title role—it seems as though he finally found the perfect cast to tell his story. While just about every cast member gives a solid performance, though, the film just wouldn’t be the same without Penn’s exuberant performance as the unlikely hero. He practically glows when he’s on screen—and his boundless energy makes his character absolutely irresistible. You can’t help but love his dedication and his eccentricities—and you’ll often find yourself caught up in his infectious joyfulness.
The film’s storytelling, however, is rather inconsistent. At times, it’s surprisingly soft-spoken, glossing over the challenges and the persecution that Harvey and his friends had to endure. While, in his narration, Harvey talks about the dangers they faced, Harvey himself—the one person in the community who dared to stand up and be heard—seems to be almost bulletproof (that is, until the film’s tragic end).
At other times, however, it’s bold and in-your-face and rather graphic. It occasionally pushes the envelope, daring its audience to understand and accept both the characters’ public and private lives. That’s understandable, too—since the real Milk encouraged his friends not to hide their sexuality, as he’d done for years. Still, the bolder, more graphic scenes don’t really seem to fit with the rest of the film’s style—and, at the same time, they might cause more mainstream audiences to shy away.
Milk isn’t always an easy film to watch, but it tells an important story. And, thanks to Penn’s performance, it’s one that you won’t soon forget.
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