Milk

Universal

R4 DVD

“If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door.”

Harvey Milk (1930-1978) was a pioneer of Gay and Lesbian rights in San Francisco. He fought a long and hard battle to become the first openly gay person to be elected to political office in the State of California in 1977. He not only had to battle against the prejudice of colleagues and an uneducated public, but an upsurge in homophobic legislation such as the Briggs Initiative which attempted to legislate against homosexual teachers in schools. Such legislation was fuelled by the religious right which was then spearheaded by the outspoken Anita Bryant. At the same time Milk did not just fight for Gay rights, he was at the forefront of a progressive approach to politics which also worked for the elderly, disabled, Asian and African Americans.

Milk ran into trouble with fellow district supervisor Dan White who felt that Milk was somehow favoured due to his sexual preference. Disgruntled, alienated and violent, White assassinated both Mayor George Moscone and Harvey Milk creating a national wide awareness of anti gay violence.

While there have been many documentaries on the life of Harvey Milk this is the first bio-pic to combine an honest and brash account of Milk’s life interspersed with original footage. Gus Van Sant is a celebrated filmmaker and has been able to get inside Milk’s psyche, rather than offering us a clichéd martyr, he offers us a real man who suffered great loss for his political choices and whose life is documented warts and all.

Sean Penn is quite simply brilliant as Milk as is James Franco as his lover. Milk is powerful portrayed yet we also come to appreciate his paranoia and occasional tantrums. His realizes the dangerous nature of his political life and records a suicide note which is to be read in the event of his death, this forms the very backbone of the film.

The ending of the film is moving and emotional. The killing by Dan White is presented in a way to avoid sensationalism with an emphasis on the great march that followed when some 30,000 people carried candles throughout the streets of San Francisco. This is shown as part of a montage with original footage and profiles of the life of each of the principal characters of the film after Milk’s death.

This is a surprisingly successful bio-pic. Rather than being a simple narrative of a life story, it offers an intense emotional journey into the heart of the very first man to become an openly gay political leader. When we reflect on current battles about gay marriage and equal rights for gay and lesbian people we realize just how significant Harvey Milk was. We also appreciate how far we have come and how far we still have to go to achieve a truly equal and progressive society.

This review will appear in Volume 2 No.4 (2009) of the digital and print edition of Synergy Magazine.

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