Not having any idea who Harvey Milk was, other than what I had learned from the trailer, Milk was a very interesting look at the life of the first openly gay man to be elected to a major public office in the US. Directed by Gus Van Sant, I knew this had to be at least a little good. Then I noticed the amazing ensemble cast consisting of Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin, James Franco, Alison Pill, and Diego Luna. Everyone did a great job. I couldn’t really see a single character carrying the whole film with the exception of maybe Penn, but he was the central character.
Milk was a political activist in the 1970s who tried to rally the gay community on Castro street in San Francisco. It was around this time that laws were being put into place giving employers, landlords, and communities the right to discriminate based on sexual preference. This might sound a little crazy to you, but it was only about 50 years ago that the Civil Rights movement started in our nation. I’ve heard some off-handed comments saying this movie is about “that gay guy.” That’s only partially true. I say this film is much more about civil rights than about gay rights. Milk was someone who was able to rally people together of all races, religions and creeds. This was even more evident after he was killed.
Don’t get mad cause I just gave the ending away. This movie is about a real person, remember? Penn was amazing. I know there are a lot of you out there that just don’t like the guy, but he had an amazing performance in this one. When people act, some mimic a person or character and others just melt into the person they are playing. Sean Penn really melted into this one. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him nominated for Best Actor on this one.
Also just saw Josh Brolin talking to James Lipton on The Actor’s Studio. Brolin talked about auditioning for the part and working with Penn. It was pretty interesting. You should probably check it out if you get the chance.
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