Milk is the story of Harvey Milk. It’s a film that could have easily been a politicized puff piece dedicated to a so-called Great American Hero. Instead, director Gus Van Sant tells the story of a rather lucky gay guy who, by natural charisma and a borderline unhealthy love of power, begins a wave of support for gay rights that would eventually spread all across the country.
Sean Penn excels as a character actor, and if it wasn’t a true story I’d swear the part was written with Penn in mind. He completely becomes Harvey Milk, at first as a 40 year old businessman from New York City secretly in love with Scott Smith (James Franco, who pleasantly surprised me in this role). He quickly becomes the openly gay Milk who moves to San Francisco with Smith to open a camera shop on Castro Street.
As the self-appointed mayor of Castro, Milk spends a good deal of the story failing. He loses the race for Board of Supervisors three times before luck takes over. In 1977, the districts are redrawn in a way that works to Milk’s advantage, finally getting him elected to the coveted seat. The new Supervisor at one point says to the Mayor, “A homosexual with power, now that’s scary,” in a mildly threatening tone. It’s obvious that he likes his new power, maybe a little too much.
It’s partially that lust for power that drives some of the ironic elements of the story. Milk’s obsession with running for the Supervisor seat, a run he dedicates to the surrounding gay community, results in the loss of his committed partner of many years. His political alignments, when he is convinced to go back on his word to fellow supervisor Dan White (Josh Brolin), drive White to depression, despair, alcoholism, and his eventual resignation from the board.
Dan White is portrayed as a socially awkward outcast looking for acceptance from constituents and fellow supervisors alike. When he finds neither, his descent into desperation is a picture of what happens to those who are cast out for being strange or different. He surprisingly resembles much of the supporting cast, the young homosexual men who made their way to Castro Street in search of acceptance. Wonderful performances by Emile Hirsch, Allison Pill, Joseph Cross, and others contributed light scenes and likeable characters to the depth of the story, complementing Penn’s strong performance by being both subtle and memorable.
Milk’s obsessions weren’t all bad. When Anita Bryant, a fervent religious activist for anti-gay legislation (portrayed by real archive footage of herself), campaigned against rights for homosexuals, it was Milk’s persistence that stirred up a revolution of young men (and a few women). His election to the Board of Supervisors allegedly saved a few lives of some who had given up hope. And his stubborn will to speak out to anyone who would listen was the driving force behind the fight against Proposition 6, a measure on the California ballot that proposed to legalize the firing of school teachers simply for being gay.
The juxtaposition of enormous success alongside ironic failure created a uniquely realistic story about the beginnings of the gay rights movement that continues today. Harvey Milk’s tragic murder happened at the peak of his influence, shot by a social outcast looking for a friend. That would’ve been the appropriately sad end to this beautiful story, too, if it weren’t for the archive footage of his candlelight procession, stretching for miles into the night.
Harvey Milk, who began his soapbox speeches by telling crowds, “I want to recruit you,” had recruited thousands of young men and women to carry on his flawed, obsessive hope.
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