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Milk (2008 movie)

654 Ratings: 2.6
A 2008 movie directed by Gus Van Sant.

Director Gus Van Sant brings to the screen the epic journey of one man and the start of a movement. Written by Dustin Lance Black the story of Harvey Milk, California's first openly gay elected official, a San Francisco supervisor who was assassinated, … see full wiki

Tags: Movies, Drama Movies, Sean Penn, Sean Penn Movies, Gus Van Sant Movies
Director: Gus Van Sant
Genre: Drama
Release Date: November 26, 2008
MPAA Rating: R
19 reviews about Milk (2008 movie)
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review by . March 07, 2011
posted in Movie Hype
One extraordinary performance in one fine movie, which has the usual self-congratulatory blemishes
Milk is Sean Penn's best-sustained performance since Fast Times at Ridgemont High. I'm not joking and I mean it as high praise.       Penn, at least in those movies of his I've seen, starts strongly and then dives head first into that famous Penn intensity that some consider acting with a capital "A." In Milk, Penn early establishes Milk as smart, empathetic, self-aware, even gentle, playful and lovable. Penn doesn't lose those qualities, and adds …
review by . March 01, 2009
By all accounts, Harvey Milk was a breath of fresh air, the light in the room, the life of the party. By "all accounts", I mean that's what Dennis Peron said when I asked him.     I had the interesting experience of staying at the home of one of Harvey's friends and fellow activists in the Castro during the filming of the movie. Peron makes only a very brief appearence in the movie, but he was very excited about it and (when I could get him to stop talking about the medical marijuana …
Quick Tip by . May 14, 2010
Best man acting
review by . May 05, 2010
Every decade, Hollywood has an actor that takes the tough roles and turns them into great movies. For the past 10 years, this would probably be Sean Penn. With classics such as 21 Grams, Mystic River, and now Milk, Sean Penn has progressed far from his bad boy days and is now one of the best American actors. Milk is Penn's portrayal of the political career of Harvey Milk, one of the first openly gay men elected to public office in the USA. Starting in NYC and ending in the Bay Area around San Francisco, …
review by . November 18, 2009
I first heard the name Harvey Milk about a few years ago when a new high school for gay teens was being opened in Manhattan and stirred a lot of controversy.  That school was named after Harvey Milk.  The news said that he was an openly gay politician from San Franscisco. I was a little remiss at the time because when I hear somebody mentioned who I know nothing about, I usually research them at a minimum on Wikipedia.  I failed and the name Harvey Milk was filed deep in my brain …
review by . November 18, 2009
I first heard the name Harvey Milk about a few years ago when a new high school for gay teens was being opened in Manhattan and stirred a lot of controversy. That school was named after Harvey Milk. The news said that he was an openly gay politician from San Franscisco.    I was a little remiss at the time because when I hear somebody mentioned who I know nothing about, I usually research them at a minimum on Wikipedia. I failed and the name Harvey Milk was filed deep in my brain …
Quick Tip by . August 29, 2009
Amazing movie. Sean Penn was perfect. What a great biopic tribute to a great man.
review by . March 09, 2009
If you've ever seen a biopic of Martin Luther King Jr. or John F. Kennedy (or his brother), you're probably familiar with the standard arc: the hero as a child, then a struggling young adult, the sensitive woman who stood by his side, etc.  Milk immediately distinguishes itself by starting at a point when the main character, Harvey Milk, is already a middle-aged middle management flunky. Where did he come from? What's his family like? Did he pass A.P. Calculus in high school? We don't know. …
review by . April 14, 2009
Contrary to what you might have been led to believe, Harvey Milk was not one of the most influential politicians who ever lived. He assumed public office in his late forties. He held that position less then a year before he was killed by a fellow politician. Truthfully, if you were to look at the biggest thing he accomplished, it would be that he got people to start picking up their pets droppings in public. Yes, the biggest law he helped get pasted involved poop. So if this was his greatest claim …
review by . April 11, 2009
Sean Penn does it again and easily delivers one of his best performances bringing to life a character and a man we no longer have, and may never see again. This is a cast filled with genuine legends like Penn & Brolin, and up and coming megastars such as Emile Hirsch and James Franco. Each and every cast member seems to give it their all in keeping loyal to their played roles character in order to play an honest homage to this legendary figure. Gus Van Sant, is a relatively unknown Director …
review by . March 26, 2009
I have to say honestly that when I learned Sean Penn would play Harvey Milk in this film, I had great trepidation.  Don't get me wrong; I'm a huge fan of Sean Penn.  Anyone who can create the character he plays in Dead Man Walking and also be the Sam of I Am Sam is just brilliant.  But a gay politician???  Sean Penn??    And yet... Penn is brilliant once again.  One of the great aspects of this tightly woven drama is the interspersing of real, not re-created, …
review by . April 23, 2009
FINALLY GOT TO SEE "MILK".  I WAS 43 THAT YEAR, AND REMEMBER THE SHOOTING.  BUT NOW I ALSO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE MAN AND HIS ORGANIZATION AND HIS ACHIEVEMENTS.
review by . May 17, 2009
posted in Movie Hype
This is an important movie. I feel like everyone should see this now. Unfortunately I didn't know much about Harvey Milk before seeing this movie but wow, what an important and beautiful person he was! And what a tragic way for his life to end. I will admit it, the ending made me cry.    For some reason it took me a bit to get into the movie but once I was into it I was INTO it. Movies are always wonderful to watch but when they are based on real people they become something …
review by . April 20, 2009
What an amazing movie this was! Not just as a great example of gay cinema done right, though it certainly is that. No, it stands on its own as a movie showing the portrait of a man who didn't intend to become political, wound up doing so, and ended up paying the ultimate price.    The film tells the story of Milk and his boyfriend (James Franco), moving to San Francisco and promptly running into the kind of evil prejudice against gays that one would these days expect to see only …
review by . December 14, 2008
Still from
I just saw Milk at the alumni get-together this afternoon. Afterwards, one of Harvey's colleagues and fellow SF supervisor during his tenure, Carol Ruth Silver, did a little talk about the film's depictions. She said the film was right-on in its depictions of Harvey and of that 1970s era in San Francisco.   One of the surprising things Silver revealed was that Dan White had also targeted her on the morning of the Moscone-Milk assassinations at City Hall. After the first two assassinations, …
review by . March 19, 2009
posted in Movie Hype
MILK is a biopic about Harvey Milk, a homosexual political activist who moved back to San Francisco in 1972 and after several losing campaigns was eventually elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, becoming the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California. The film is a pasteurized biopic that begins on Harvey Milk's (Sean Penn's) birthday and his move to San Francisco with his then lover, Scott Smith (James Franco). Upon arriving in the city, the couple opens a camera …
review by . March 12, 2009
MILK is one of the more powerful bio-epics produced by Hollywood. Harvey Milk, the man honored by this superbly crafted film by writer Dustin Lance Black and directed by Gus Van Sant, is brought to life by Sean Penn in his most skilled performance of his fine career. Not only is this movie an homage to Harvey Milk, but it is also a shaking reminder of the ferocious ongoing battle for Civil Rights. Few viewers will come away from this film untouched.    The life of gay activist …
review by . February 24, 2009
Milk is an excellent movie. Sean Penn gives a moving performance as city supervisor and gay rights activist Harvey Milk. I love Gus Van Sant's direction. The shots of San Francisco's Castro district in the seventies. look very authentic. I love the candlelit vigil shot at the end of the movie. The performances by everyone in this movie are so good. I love James Franco in his role as Harvey Milk's boyfriend. Josh Brolin plays rival Dan White perfectly. I love Danny Elfman's score and the songs "Everyday …
review by . February 02, 2009
"MILK"    Van Sant Gives Us the Film We Have Waited For    Amos Lassen    Harvey Milk is a gay icon even in his death. He spearheaded a revolution for civil rights while he remained tender and gentle. Gus Van Sant brings us the Harvey Milk story in his biopic "Milk" and it is an amazing experience. It is storytelling at its best with a literate screenplay and a cast that gives wonderful performances. The film not only lets us know who Harvey …
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