A top-notch and powerful drama following the life of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected politician in the USA in 1977 and his murder in 1978 by a co-worker.

Condensing the story, covering the period 1970 - 1978, when Milk was challenged to change his life on his 40th Birthday by moving to San Francisco and slowly but surely becoming a driving force in the fight for gay rights allows the film to focus on the really important parts.

From his early victories against local traders, through his larger battles with figures such as Anita Bryant and other prominent conservatives we are painted with a moving portrait of the struggles fought to advance gay rights. Intercutting real-life newsreel footage with is a move that works perfectly to capture the essence of the time and lends a semi-documentary feel to the film.

The directing by Gus Van Sant is minimal and unobtrusive, letting the actors do their job Sean Penn is utterly convincing and he more than deserved the… more »

A top-notch and powerful drama following the life of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected politician in the USA in 1977 and his murder in 1978 by a co-worker.

Condensing the story, covering the period 1970 - 1978, when Milk was challenged to change his life on his 40th Birthday by moving to San Francisco and slowly but surely becoming a driving force in the fight for gay rights allows the film to focus on the really important parts.

From his early victories against local traders, through his larger battles with figures such as Anita Bryant and other prominent conservatives we are painted with a moving portrait of the struggles fought to advance gay rights. Intercutting real-life newsreel footage with is a move that works perfectly to capture the essence of the time and lends a semi-documentary feel to the film.

The directing by Gus Van Sant is minimal and unobtrusive, letting the actors do their job Sean Penn is utterly convincing and he more than deserved the Best Actor Oscar for the performace, but also a revelation is James Franco as his lover, who reveals ability rarely seen in the Spider-Man saga. Josh Brolin also quietly impresses as Dan White, the city employee who eventually murdered Milk and got off on the now famous 'Twinki defence'.

All in, this part-film/part-document demands to be seen and reminds us that the struggles fought in the film, the victories won and then later lost, are still going on in the world today.