Definitely one of the Top 5 movies directed by Gus Van Sant, "MILK" brings a stellar performance by Academy Award winner Sean Penn in the role of Harvey Milk, the
first openly gay political representative in America, a trailblazer who fought for gay rights and also many other important social topics in his San Francisco community, a
man who lived, loved and died for a cause becoming a strong symbol of righteousness, activism and the fight for freedom.
Back when it was released and the awards buzz was everything I was completely unaware of Milk and his activism, it took me some time to learn about the man, first in the acclaimed documentary "THE TIMES OF HARVEY MILK" then this movie and ever since I was fascinated and captivated by his activism, heroism (by that I mean, that's he human like anybody else with good deeds and flaws as well) and its huge importance in the LGBT community. A strong and resilient character who encouraged a whole generation, formed new leadership and faced discrimination and prejudice from oppositors and even colleagues from his working position such as the hateful Dan White (an amazing performance by Josh Brolin). Sure, there's tragedy and misery but there's also struggle, passion, love, the good fight when one wants their voice to be heard and many accomplishments along the way.
It's a very inspirational story well written by then newcomer Dustin Lance Black (nowadays, he's everywhere), and with solid performances by Penn, Brolin, Emile Hirsch, James Franco, Alison Pill, Diego Luna (a very thankless role as the sad boyfriend of Milk), Denis O'Hare and Joseph Cross. But it's obvious that I was incredibly amazed by Penn's commitment to the role since when you think of such a visible gay-themed film the name you'd least expect to be associate with it is Sean Penn, due to his heavy macho characters. But here, he makes you forget everything you knew about his previous roles and he injects heart and soul in a emotionally charged performance bring levity, humor and care for this real man. A genuine performance of a master. 10/10.
Back when it was released and the awards buzz was everything I was completely unaware of Milk and his activism, it took me some time to learn about the man, first in the acclaimed documentary "THE TIMES OF HARVEY MILK" then this movie and ever since I was fascinated and captivated by his activism, heroism (by that I mean, that's he human like anybody else with good deeds and flaws as well) and its huge importance in the LGBT community. A strong and resilient character who encouraged a whole generation, formed new leadership and faced discrimination and prejudice from oppositors and even colleagues from his working position such as the hateful Dan White (an amazing performance by Josh Brolin). Sure, there's tragedy and misery but there's also struggle, passion, love, the good fight when one wants their voice to be heard and many accomplishments along the way.
It's a very inspirational story well written by then newcomer Dustin Lance Black (nowadays, he's everywhere), and with solid performances by Penn, Brolin, Emile Hirsch, James Franco, Alison Pill, Diego Luna (a very thankless role as the sad boyfriend of Milk), Denis O'Hare and Joseph Cross. But it's obvious that I was incredibly amazed by Penn's commitment to the role since when you think of such a visible gay-themed film the name you'd least expect to be associate with it is Sean Penn, due to his heavy macho characters. But here, he makes you forget everything you knew about his previous roles and he injects heart and soul in a emotionally charged performance bring levity, humor and care for this real man. A genuine performance of a master. 10/10.