Milk is the moving true story of an audacious politician, Harvey Milk, who rose from anonymity to become the focal point of San Francisco's burgeoning gay community as the first openly gay man elected to public office.
This film cannot be timelier. With its story of an unknown politician gaining grassroots experience as an organizer on the community level who rises to the level of public office, becoming a symbol for a larger and older movement, it is easy for someone of any political background to draw parallels. In the case of Barack Obama, it was the issue of race; Harvey Milk, however, had his sights set on gay rights.
After living as a disgruntled insurance salesman in New York for several years, Harvey (Sean Penn) decides to turn his life upside down on the eve of his 40th birthday. After falling in love with a young man, Scott Smith (James Franco), Harvey trades his suit for a pair of jeans, grows out his hair and comes out to San Francisco to make a new life for himself and his partner.
Quickly after opening Castro Camera with his last bit of savings, Harvey finds his corner of the city turning into a haven for gays and lesbians. From this vantage point, he is able to witness the ongoing discrimination against gays in the city. Anti-gay violence inspires Harvey to organize the gay community in order to gain political power.
The challenge of any biopic is daunting because the story has already been told and the ending is already known.
Life does not always experience a smooth transition to art, and the director does not have the luxury of tweaking the plot when it might disinterest the viewer. Gus Van Sant does an excellent job of following and dramatizing only the details of Milk's life that captivate the audience. He relates Milk's individual rise with the collective rise of gay issues to the national stage.
One of the strengths of the film is Van Sant's extensive use of stock footage drawn from news reports and local shots of 1970s San Francisco. The cinematography is engrossing and brings to mind a profiling journalist right in the thick of Milk's movement. Van Sant is also evidently fond of filming the reflections of scenes in different objects for artistic effect. This gives rise to one of the most affecting scenes of the movie which is filmed entirely in the reflection on a whistle.
Harvey tries to get elected while keeping his outsider values intact but soon finds himself once again in a suit when his first campaign ends unsuccessfully. His defeat is short-lived, though, and Harvey readily climbs aboard his soapbox (literally) and hits the streets once more with his pamphlets, eventually gaining the position of San Francisco city supervisor.
This is a crucial part of Harvey Milk's appeal, and his dogged will to survive all opposition, such a prominent part of Milk's life, is the most inspiring part of the film. He ignores death threats delivered right before he is to give a major speech, telling the campaign manager attempting to dissuade him simply: "The whole nation is watching. I have to."
Milk's biggest challenge came from Christian groups who argued on their religious grounds that homosexuals were moral offenders. Anita Bryant was a famous singer who, during this time, became the face of the anti-gay religious movement. She got catapulted into the national spotlight after successfully repealing an ordinance in Dade County, Fl. that prohibited discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.
Meanwhile, Harvey draws the ire of fellow city supervisor Dan White (Josh Brolin) when he refuses a tit-for-tat voting arrangement. Little does he know that in White he is making a serious enemy who proves to be responsible for his tragic downfall.
Milk's subsequent popularity draws attention from radical religious groups who bring their bigoted fight against homosexuals clear across the country to California where Milk had gotten a similar ordinance passed in the city. State Senator John Briggs (Denis O'Hare), following Bryant's lead, forced a proposition onto the ballot that would repeal the ordinance.
Suddenly, Harvey Milk finds himself in the most important battle of his life. Aided by his right hand campaign organizer, Cleve Jones, played admirably by Emile Hirsch, Milk goes campaigning around the state against the proposition, encouraging homosexuals who have not come out to do so. Yet again Milk's indomitable spirit wins out as the voters of California are galvanized into stopping the proposition in its tracks.
Of course, every biographical film is also only as strong as the imitation of the real-life counterpart whom the main actor sets out to portray.
Sean Penn plays the role of Harvey Milk magnificently, immersing himself into the role so completely as to definitely garner another Oscar nomination. He takes the story of a pioneering politician beyond the fiery speeches and stirring marches and conveys with masterful yet simple compassion Milk's ultimate message.
In the end what is most important to Harvey Milk is a simple idea for oppressed gays across the country, an idea he gave his life for: "You've gotta give them hope. You've gotta give them hope."
