It’s like: any great epic without the dire plotpoints and multi-millionaire dollar production costs…it’s a documentary without the boring narration…it’s that movie where you nod your head and say, “That’s why he won the Oscar…”
Stars you’d know: Sean Penn, James Franco, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin
Synopsis:The story of Harvey Milk and his rise to become the first openly gay elected official, and his fight for gay rights. But it’s so much more than that. It’s simply about how one man, who loved his life and all the crap that went with it, decided to fight for it in the streets of San Francisco.
Verdict: I have to admit, 30 minutes into it I almost shut it off. Yes, I realize he wasn’t even elected to office yet, but I couldn’t figure out how this soft-spoken man was going to inspire millions in the heyday of Castro in the 70’s. First off, I kinda don’t like the 70’s. I never got into the flower-child mentality. But I stuck around because, well, everyone said it was THAT good. And two hours in…you realize, damn…it IS THAT good. Yes, you know what is going to happen, and yes, you know it’s about politics and gay rights history, and some people may not want to venture down that road. But do yourself a favor, and wait for the last 20 minutes of this film, and just try not to tear up when the final scenes come. The mixing of the old footage with the new footage was expertly done, but you would expect nothing less from Gus Van Sant. And the acting…now this is why the Oscars were invented. In the year that brought us Frost/Nixon, Slumdog Millionaire, The Reader, and the Curious Case of BJ Buttons, it is no surprise that Sean Penn won the Oscar (although I do admit, Frank Langella, if another year, would have won as well). You forget who Sean Penn is. And having never seen the real Harvey Milk until the end, you realize, you never really saw “Sean Penn” the actor. You saw, and will forever associate Sean Penn with, Harvey Milk. And that, being lost so deeply in a character that you forget who the actor is, is the very definition of an Oscar-caliber actor. The supporting cast was just as superb, with shout-outs to James Franco (can the man make anything bad?) and Emile Hirsh.
If you want to get a history lesson that you never knew existed, while watching some of the finest actors flourish in their craft, rent Milk. The twenty minutes at the end will make your heart swell and realize that it might have been Harvey Milk, not Obama, who started the trend of, “Hope”.
