Milk (Focus Features)
Harvey Milk Had To Have More Charisma Than This Movie Shows
Milk is a film about the life and times of Harvey Milk, the gay man who fought and brought equal rights for homosexuals to the San Francisco Bay area. It is a story full of hope and tragedy and one that should leave you more affected by its turn of events than it does. Sean Penn throws his heart into his portrayal of Milk but the man comes off as less charismatic than he has to have been in real life.
Harvey Milk (Penn) lived and worked in San Francisco in the 1970s. He and his boyfriend Scott Smith (James Franco) operated a camera shop in the Castro district. They were first hand viewers of how gays were discriminated against. This led Harvey to become obsessed with politics and he eventually became the first gay man elected to public office in the United States.
Once he was elected he met another councilman Dan White (Josh Brolin). The two men had a love/hate relationship of sorts. Eventually White ended up murdering both Milk and the Mayor of San Francisco, George Moscone (Victor Garber).
Penn throws himself into his portrayal of Milk, and it is a good one. It erases all the other views of Penn we have had in the past. But as good a performance as it is, it is lacking something that would explain Milks powerful charisma. You know he had to be an amazingly dynamic human being because he influenced so many people.
Brolins White is a cipher, never revealing his inner turmoil or having it revealed. When he commits a double murder at the end of the movie it is a surprise. Nothing has been established which would lead to an expectation of such an act.
Franco is good and solid as Milks main boyfriend, while Diego Luna is all over the place as the next boyfriend Milk selected. Emile Hirsch has some good moments as a gay activist and Allison Pill gives some life to Milk supporter Anne Kronenburg.
The film is rated R for profanity and sexual situations.
Harvey Milk made history in San Francisco but this film never captures the secret of his success. The subject matter of the movie is impressive but the actual movie never is. It bogs down in many parts and never gives the viewer the excitement behind the scenes.
I scored Milk a penned 5 out of 10.
