Milk

Reviewed by:
Gerasimos Manolatos

Directed by: Gus Van Sant

The Skinny: Approaching his 40th birthday, openly-gay Harvey Milk (Sean Penn) moves to San Francisco and opens up a camera store in the Castro District, an area of increasing homosexual activity. Believing he could quell the friction between gays and their conservative surrounding neighbors, Milk runs for elected office.

The Good: The Academy historically shies away from recognizing movies with political tilts, but Sean Penn deserves a gold man for this performance. Convincing as a gay man ostracized by a hateful community, Penn's transformation into an activist and political player is even more impressive, without being preachy. Josh Brolin follows up his role as a ruinous president with an effective turn as Milk's maniacal political rival, while Emile Hirsch emerges from Into the Wild and nails Cleve Jones, an impressionable rebel turned Milk advisor.

The Bad: The film provides a lot of backstory about the gay movement, and, at times, feels documentarian, shifting focus from the film's strength—Penn's Milk. At over two hours in length, the story could've been tightened to avoid plot drag near the end; Milk may do a body good, but too much milk gives you lovehandles.

Oh No! Teh Gay?!?: If you're wondering why this movie is rated R, IMDB provides a clue: "several sex scenes among men KISSING." Because we thought gay guys just liked to play checkers.

Theater, DVD, or TNT in Five Years? With an election cycle that has served to highlight the issue, we'd recommend a visit to the theater. But, it's not something you're going to arrange a "Guy's Night Out" for—not that there's anything wrong with that.

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