Movie Review: Milk

"My name is Harvey Milk, and I'm here to recruit you."

It's a shame Harvey Milk didn't live to realize his potential. At the same time, were he alive today, he'd probably feel as if all of his time and effort had been wasted. "Milk" chronicles the last 8 years of Harvey Milk's life, starting from his move to San Francisco, until the tragic end of his life in 1978. Milk, played by Academy Award winner Sean Penn, was the first openly gay man to be elected to public office. His infectious personality and charming
smile served him well, both in his social life and in his political life. Although in his political life, his smile was not enough to combat his sexuality.

Milk moved to San Francisco in 1970 and opened up a camera store in 1972 with his boyfriend, Scott Smith, played by James Franco. In 1973, he ran for the prestigious position of City Supervisor in San Francisco. 7 supervisors would be elected to the position. Milk's way with words, along with his fiery and passionate speeches and charm, garnered him plenty of votes. However, in what would not be his first defeat, Milk placed 10th, despite winning his region by a gigantic margin. After yet another defeat in 1975, Milk's chances improved for the 1977 election when an ordinance was passed that allowed the city to elect Supervisors by district, rather than city wide. Milk easily won in his district in 1977, becoming the first openly gay man to be elected to public office.

While in office, Milk helped to defeat Proposition 6, a proposal that would make the firing of homosexual teachers mandatory. The biggest supporter of this proposal and a candidate for Governor, John Briggs, held several debates with Harvey Milk in an attempt to help pass the proposal. In one of the most powerful scenes in the film, Briggs asserts during one of the debates that gay men only want to teach so they can "recruit" young boys into their
gay lifestyle. Milk fires back, "If it were true that children mimicked their teachers, you'd have a helluva lot more nuns running around."

"Milk" is undoubtedly one of the finest films of the year. There have been few films in recent memory in which all performances, up and down through the entire cast, have been so exceptional. James Franco, in a very new and different role for him, is phenomenal as Milk's lover, Scott Smith. Josh Brolin, though only present for the second half of the film, follows up his astounding performance in "No Country For Old Men" with yet another amazing performance as Dan White, one of Milk's fellow supervisors and chief rival. Emile Hirsch also shines as Cleve Jones, Milk's protégé, and may earn himself a "Best Supporting Actor" Oscar nomination. The spotlight, however, definitely belongs to Sean Penn. Nearly unrecognizable as Harvey Milk, Penn is flawless in his performance. He has clearly studied Harvey Milk intensely, and has all of Harvey's facial tendencies and mannerisms down to a
tee. Milk is a man who is not only passionate about gay rights, but about helping gay people come to terms with themselves and their sexuality. At the same time, Milk struggles with his own sexuality. He's open with his sexuality, and proud of it. Yet, he never told his parents about Scott, and wrestles with the guilt of three of his four previous boyfriends having attempted suicide. Penn does an excellent job of conveying these conflicting ideas, and how much it would affect a person to have to be one way publicly, while hiding demons inside. He is certain to receive an Oscar nomination, and in my eyes, should be the front runner to win.

This film, however, is not for the faint of heart. Director Gus Van Sant is very frank and direct with his portrayal of the homosexual life in 1970's San Francisco. Initially, the film appears to be less a political film about a gay man, and more of a gay film featuring a politician. For the first 45 minutes, the film seemed to toe the line between being accurate in its portrayal of gay life, and merely making gay men look promiscuous. Not all gay men find all
other men to be "cute" or "adorable," nor do they spontaneously make out or have sex with men they just met. We know the characters are gay; we don't need this fact shoved down our throats (no pun intended).

Unfortunately, 30 years following Harvey Milk's death, gays have yet to make much headway (again, no pun intended). Were Milk alive today to see gay marriage outlawed in California, so long after he had begun his crusade for gay rights, he would probably begin to wonder why he should continue. Then again, were Milk alive today, who's to say that gay marriage would not have been legal a long time ago? Harvey Milk didn't become active in politics until he was 40. The fact that Harvey was able to do so much for gay rights in only 8 years is inspiring, and should be a reminder to all of us that it is never too late to make a difference in life.