Reviewed By: Brendan Cullin

Rating: 8.5/10

In "Milk", Sean Penn stars as Harvey Milk, an activist for gay rights who became sort of the Braveheart of homosexuals. Milk moved from New York to San Francisco in the 1970's and ran for political office three times before finally winning a seat on the Board of Supervisors in 1977. Harvey was already affectionately known as the Mayor of Castro Street (a predominantly gay neighbourhood in San Fran) when he was named Supervisor. Milk pushed for gay rights in San Francisco and across America and pressed for closeted gays to come out to their families, friends and co-workers. One of his main goals was an ordinance that would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. He also was the architect of legislation that forced the people of San Francisco to pick up doody after their dogs. Although Milk received tremendous support from the community, from friends and even other politicians, he also was vehemently opposed by hate-mongers such as political activist Anita Bryant, California Senator John Briggs and San Francisco Supervisor Dan White. On November 27, 1978, Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone were both shot to death at City Hall in San Francisco. I'm not ruining any surprise ending here – this is revealed in the first two minutes of the movie. "Milk" is based on a true story.

One thing I realized from watching "Milk", if I had not realized it before, is that Sean Penn is truly one of the great actors in Hollywood today. He is simply fantastic in this movie. He will get nominated for an Academy Award. I knew nothing of Harvey Milk before I saw this movie but I am sure Penn's portrayal was not too far off the mark. Harvey would be proud.

I guess the other thing I got from "Milk" is the question as to how much the world has changed since Harvey Milk graced the Earth. It's been 30 years since Harvey fought for gay rights initiatives and yet in this day and age, I know gay people who are still in the closet. I know people who think being gay is a sin, who use religion as a platform for denying gays their right. The KKK still exists in America. An organization called "God Hates Fags" exists. I don't know too much about it but I know there is something in California called Proposition 8 that denies same-sex couples the right to get married and have their marriage recognized. It is really a sad state of affairs in America. They really should be ashamed of themselves. Slavery has been abolished but racism still exists. Gay rights have been passed but they are still denied way too many freedoms. As much as the world has progressed in the last 30 years, it still has a long, long way to go. And as proud as Harvey Milk would be of Sean Penn, I am sure he would be equally disappointed at the progress of the world in the last 30 years when it comes to human rights. For every Harvey Milk that is alive in the world today, there still exists an Anita Bryant. It just doesn't seem right. But it doesn't take away from the fact that "Milk" is a wonderful movie about a very brave man.