Review of Milk

Review of Milk

Milk. Writ. Dustin Lance Black. Dir. Gus Van Sant. Focus Features, 2008. DVD.

In this review of the critically acclaimed film Milk, the story of the first openly gay man to be voted into public office and his life and political activism in the Castro district of San Francisco, I will spend little time on the aspects of the film already routinely praised by the press. Sean Perm's powerhouse performance was indeed moving and authentic. The rest of the cast creates vivid and fascinating characters that complement Sean Perm's performance perfectly. The well-written script resists the temptation to turn Harvey Milk into a perfect and boring martyr but rather presents him as a well-rounded and inspirational character. The direction and filming beautifully capture a sense of place and history. The film is well-paced and inspiring. Gus Van Sant's treatment of Henry Milk's struggle to achieve the office of city supervisor, his work to encourage and grow activism in the Castro, and his eventual death at the hands of Dan White successfully captures the formative role this moment in time had for the gay and lesbian movements as well as the symbolic power of Harvey Milk as a figure.

Still I have trouble referring to this as a biopic, a film that focuses on the life and personal history of an historically important individual, its usual designation, because such a term minimizes the other main character of this film, the...