Milk

Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin

His life changed history. His courage changed lives.

In 1977, Harvey Milk was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, becoming the first openly gay man to be voted into public o...( read more  read more... )ffice in America. His victory was not just a victory for gay rights; he forged coalitions across the political spectrum. From senior citizens to union workers, Harvey Milk changed the very nature of what it means to be a fighter for human rights and became, before his untimely death in 1978, a hero for all Americans. Sean Penn stars as Harvey Milk under the direction of Gus Van Sant in Milk, filmed on location in San Francisco from an original screenplay by Dustin Lance Black, and produced by Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen.

Milk charts the last eight years of Harvey Milk's life. While living in New York City, he turns 40. Looking for more purpose, Milk and his lover Scott Smith (James Franco) relocate to San Francisco, where they found a small business, Castro Camera, in the heart of a working-class neighborhood. With his beloved Castro neighborhood and beautiful city empowering him, Milk surprises Scott and himself by becoming an outspoken agent for change.

With vitalizing support from Scott and from new friends like young activist Cleve Jones (Emile Hirsch), Milk plunges headfirst into the choppy waters of politics. Bolstering his public profile with humor, Milk's actions speak even louder than his gift-of-gab words.

When Milk is elected supervisor for the newly zoned District 5, he tries to coordinate his efforts with those of another newly elected supervisor, Dan White (Josh Brolin). But as White and Milk's political agendas increasingly diverge, their personal destinies tragically converge.

Milk's platform was and is one of hope – a hero's legacy that resonates in the here and now.

Flixster Users

89% liked it

Critics

93% liked it

R, 2 hrs. 8 min.

Directed by: Gus Van Sant

Released: November 26, 2008

Invite friends to see

DVD Released: March 10, 2009

Recommend it Add to Favorites

Your Rating



clear rating

Top Flixster Reviews


  • June 18, 2009
    "My name is Harvey Milk, and I am here to recruit you!"

    A gentle, almost tender biopic of a man who spearheaded a revolution, Gus Van Sant's Milk is appropriately itself a dichotomy. It's an almost aggressively conventional film about a premise that could not be mo... ...( read more )
  • May 22, 2009
    "My name is Harvey Milk and I'm here to recruit you!"


    Gus Van Sant's Milk is an incisive and stirring dramatisation of the heroic life and violent death of 1970's gay activist Harvey Milk. Van Sant's magnificent biopic of indelible power is infused with a mast...

    ...( read more )
  • May 13, 2009
    Funny, inspiring and heartbreaking.
  • May 12, 2009
    Heartbreaking, absolutely. But incredibly told.
  • April 27, 2009
    Sean Penn is amazing, as always. The story was a good one, and the acting was really good all the way around...well except for Digeo Luna, who is just not a good actor in my opinion.
  • July 3, 2009
    interesting movie.. well, many people oppose different (i mean in past) and he fight those thing bravely.. dont really like it, but sean pean played harvey so well and also d other actor.. for d story, bcause it's base on true story, i dont have anything to say. but d director ma... ...( read more )

Critic Reviews


View more Milk reviews at RottenTomatoes.com
January 23, 2009
Nigel Andrews, The Financial Times

Add Penn's uncannily three-dimensional performance, his best yet, and Milk is a masterclass on how a political biopic can become rich, humane, encompassing cinema. full review

December 15, 2008
Mike McGranaghan, The Aisle Seat

Milk combines grade-A acting, an astute screenplay, and innovative, passionate direction into a package that entertains even as it drives home some important ideas. full review

December 12, 2008
Katherine Monk, CBC Infoculture

Penn seems to disappear behind the upright shoulders and coquettish grin of his alter ego. He not only launches into each close-up screen kiss with co-star James Franco with palpable zeal, he makes Mi... full review

December 11, 2008
Brian Orndorf, BrianOrndorf.com

After eight long years of cinematically picking lint out of his bellybutton, Van Sant returns from the void of his scarf collection with this noble bio-pic, a film awash with colorful characters and a... full review

December 5, 2008
Michael Sragow, The Baltimore Sun

It's not a great movie, but it is an enlivening and unusual one: an effervescent political film that also packs a knockout punch. full review

December 4, 2008
Kimberly Jones, Austin Chronicle

A fairly standard biopic -- if a very fine one, indeed -- but never the transcendent work one would have hoped from the filmmaker or his subject. full review

December 3, 2008
Armond White, The New York Press

A bizarre manipulation of the gay political impulse. full review

December 1, 2008
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal

Penn's performance is a marvelous act of empathy in a movie that, for all its surprisingly conventional style, measures up to its stirring subject. full review

November 28, 2008
Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor

Milk is an agitprop fantasy about the selflessness of sainthood. If anybody but Penn was playing the saint, we'd probably feel as if we were being sold a bill of goods. Instead, he just about pulls it... full review

November 28, 2008
Pete Hammond, Hollywood.com

A film that doesn't quite escape the clichés of the biopic genre but still finds its own beats, thanks in large part to the piercing performances. full review

Comments


  • kriegerderholle
    April 2, 2009
    Hahaha, men 5/5, women 1.5/5
  • lizzylexa0602
    March 12, 2009
    Yeah why did the women rate it so low? I'm a heterosexual woman and I thought it was better than 1 ½ stars.
  • bigmanonthetube
    February 24, 2009
    Excellent film, damn near a perfect portrait. There was not one second in the film that I felt was out of context. The dated footage was seamlessly transitioned into the footage that was shot. Sean, yu did it again and left my mouth on the floor lol. Penn continues to surprise me.
  • Megggyy
    February 20, 2009
    Wait, how is the female average rating so low?

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Video Requires Latest Version of Adobe Flash:

Get Adobe Flash player

Official Trailer

More Like This


Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • The Times of Harvey Milk
    The Times of Harvey Milk (93%)
  • Malcolm X
    Malcolm X (77%)
  • Hollow Man
    Hollow Man (0%)
  • All The King's Men
    All The King's Men (88%)

Theater Showtimes & TV Listings


Movie Quizzes


Most Popular Skin