Milk

3.5/4

Starring: Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, James Franco, Emile Hirsch, Alison Pill, Diego Luna, Denis O'Hare, Victor Garber

Rated R for Language, Some Sexual Content and Brief Violence

What's really striking about Harvey Milk is that, unlike in most biopics, it's not a sudden event or tragedy that spurs him into action.  He kind of just falls into it.  At first, he runs for office so he can keep his business open without facing discrimination.  But the more he finds success, he realizes that with just a little more effort, he can do more.  Before he knows it, he's swooped into a storm of social change that he started without even realizing it.

The film is guided along with narration by Harvey (Penn) himself.  He begins his story in New York City, where he meets a man named Scott Smith (Franco), who would become his longtime lover.  The two hit it off beautifully, and end up moving to San Francisco together, which is starting to become a mecca for gays and lesbians.  But when he decides to open up a camera shop, he's faced with resistance and discrimination. He decides to run for City Supervisor, although that fails.  More attempts bring him closer and closer to success, and eventually he wins a spot in government.  Harvey Milk becomes the first openly gay man to be elected to a seat in public office.  Just as he's settling into his new job, there are two great fights that he must win: Anita Bryant's crusade against gays in Dade County, Florida and John Briggs' Proposition 6.

Sean Penn is an amazing actor.  From playing a convicted killer in "Dead Man Walking" to playing an openly gay politician, Penn has shown true devotion to his craft and his versatility.  He doesn't play Harvey Milk as a queen or a deeply troubled character (two ways that gay men are often portrayed in Hollywood).  He's essentially a normal guy.  A little feminine, maybe, but with a big smile and a corny sense of humor.  Penn disappears into this role to the extent that Hilary Swank did in "Boys Don't Cry."  But Penn has another challenge that Swank (at the time) did not have: he's a well known face.  Yet it takes less than a second to stop seeing him as Sean Penn and only seeing Harvey Milk.

Penn is surrounded by an excellent supporting cast, and while this is unquestionably his show, he commands the screen without forcing his co-stars into the background.  James Franco, an actor of limited range, gives his best performance as Scott, Harvey's lover who grows tired of having his life overrun by his partner's political career.  He and Penn have great chemistry, and both of them are willing to shed their clothing and engage in some surprisingly graphic (for a movie that stars two well known actors playing gay men) sexual scenes.  James Brolin is very good as Dan White, Harvey's co-worker and ideological rival.  White is a button-downed conservative Catholic, but he's willing to play ball (at least initially).  Brolin has come a long way from "The Goonies" and "Hollow Man."  The other cast members include Emile Hirsch as Cleve Jones, one of Harvey's supporters, Diego Luna as Jack Lira, a boyfriend of Harvey's, and Alison Pill as his campaign manager, Anne Kronenberg.  Dennis O'Hare is chilling as Senator John Briggs, the driving force behind Prop 6.

Gus Van Sant has had an interesting career.  When he tries to make normal films, like this or "Good Will Hunting," he shows true talent as a filmmaker.  But when he tries to be indie, like with the much-despised "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues," or his ego trip "Paranoid Park," he can make some truly awful movies.  Fortunately, "Milk" falls into the first category.  He pays attention to developing the characters and their situations.  But I didn't feel much emotionally.  With a biopic like this, it should swoop the audience up in a whirlwind of inspirational emotion and tears at the end.  That doesn't happen here.  Maybe it's because Dustin Lance Black's script tries to do too much.  Or maybe Van Sant uses too subtle of a touch.  Whatever the reason, it's still a good film, but it doesn't quite earn a 4/4.