Movie review – Milk

I’ve always admired the work of Sean Penn. Admittedly, people can pigeonhole him as “Madonna’s ex-husband” or “the guy who never cared much about winning an Oscar and finally was recognized for his work“. However, I would like to praise Penn for taking on a rather challenging role as the lead actor in “Milk” and depicting Harvey Milk in such a human, vibrant way. Harvey Milk wasn’t perfect nor super-human. He was a gay man who succeeded in making a difference. And Penn does a wonderful job of incarnating Harvey Milk. In this movie, Penn IS Harvey Milk.

Milk is recognized for being the first openly gay man ever elected to public office in the United States, and for his efforts to defeat Proposition 6 which denied gay rights. Milk was assassinated along with then-Mayor of San Francisco, George Moscone. The movie is both heart-wrenching and heart-warming, mixing footage from the era (circa 1978) with the actual movie.

Some of my friends have indicated that maybe if “Milk” had opened just a few weeks earlier, then maybe the outcome on Proposition 8 might have changed. I am not sure, since there is no counter-factual to assess this outcome against.

Still, I just can’t understand how so many people have given themselves the supreme/divine right to “eliminate the rights of gay people“. Um, hello? Weren’t we all created all the same? While watching the movie, every time I heard Anita Bryant’s (or any other bigoted, hatred-inducing creep shown in the movie) I cringed.

I can’t believe some people actually think of homosexuals as deviant and worthy of being attacked. I have always praised Vancouver and its society for their openness, but, seriously, it is times like this (with the passing of Proposition 8 in the US and recent hate-mongering against The Laramie Project) that I am SO glad I live in Vancouver.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Sean Penn was nominated again for an Oscar, and even though I think Josh Brolin did a wonderful job, I would probably nominate James Franco for Best Actor in a Supporting Role if I had my way. Franco is phenomenal in this role.

I know that Ianiv and Arieanna and Airdrie saw this movie the night before I did, so I’ll have to chat with them and get their impressions.