The less you know about Harvey Milk the more this film is going to affect you as Sean Penn gives a performance to remember telling the story of a man that is sure to inspire many, especially in a time when gay rights has pushed its way to the forefront. The film moves along at a considerable clip and while not perfect, with a few story details that should have either been dumped or reworked this is a definite achievement and one of the better films of 2008.
The story follows the life of Harvey Milk (Sean Penn), the first openly gay man elected to public office in America. We first meet him as a carefree individual as he moves to a neighborhood in San Francisco with his then lover Scott Smith played by James Franco. The two set up a camera shop and find themselves immediately confronted with bigotry. However, the neighborhood soon became a haven for gay people from around the country and Harvey Milk became their mouthpiece as he decided it was time to run for public office.
Obviously met with hurdles along the way, the story becomes more about Milk’s dealings with other people and how he inspires both gay and straight to better themselves. Strangely enough the result of his campaigning does ultimately win him a place on the city supervisors’ board of San Francisco, but it is the story of how it happened and the people he affected along the way that becomes so inspiring. It lets us know it is through our path toward achievement that inspiration is attained, not necessarily the achievement itself. Milk became an icon long before he won an election, and it was how he did it that won him so many admirers. Milk’s rise in popularity inspired many across the country, but it was the message he carried with him that lives on.
You don’t have to know a thing about the real Harvey Milk to realize Penn’s embodiment of the character is a major accomplishment. Penn plays Milk with a delicate balance as your average Joe with a dose of femininity without flamboyance. He rises to the challenge when called upon and is altogether a unique character and one you want to let in. At no point do you look at the role as a caricature or impersonation, you believe him as Harvey Milk from the minute you first see him and he opens his mouth to speak. Sure, it may take you a second to get your bearings since it is Sean Penn as you have never seen him before, but by the time the film ends you will be completely bowled over.
Another great piece of Oscar-worthy acting in the film comes from Josh Brolin as another newly elected supervisor, Dan White. White plays a major role in the story and Brolin plays him with such amazing dexterity as White has a major inner conflict he is dealing with and it is only Milk that he seems to equally find comfort and pain in talking to. It’s a moment to behold each time both are in a scene together as well as the aftermath as White is seen sitting alone and left to his thoughts. I truly believe this is Brolin’s crowning achievement to date.
James Franco has been getting some attention for his performance, but I wouldn’t call it anything more than decent where in fact I would place more praise on Emile Hirsch as a young man brought into the Harvey Milk fold even when he first resisted the idea. Hirsch becomes the film’s youthful energy in later moments and he carries it off quite well and continues to show he is a young actor to keep an eye on.
Actually, now that I have brought up, Franco’s character best embodies the film’s one real flaw. By this I am referring to Milk’s relationships and the way they are treated in the narrative. Early on in the film we see Harvey pick up Scott, seemingly on a whim and the two end up sharing a night together and ultimately living together. I got the impression this was intended to let audiences know: Yes, they are gay. Yes, there will be male-on-male kissing. And, yes, you better be comfortable with it. However, if the intention was to set the audience at ease with the gay aspect of the story from the outset director Gus Van Sant shouldn’t have made it feel so forced. From this point on the Smith-Milk relationship never seems all that real and you don’t truly feel the love between the two of them until late in the film. A later relationship Harvey has becomes a victim of its own nature and works much better, but it would have worked more had the early relationship with Scott been handled with more care from the outset.
However, this is just one little nitpick, for the most part this film is fantastic. The story brings an audience in as you want to learn more and more and hear the stories of those around Harvey and how he has affected and influenced their lives. While not a perfect film, Milk couldn’t have come at a better time and I hope people stand up and recognize the importance of its message.
