With Kirby Dicks next project, "Outrage", due to expose a number of anti-gay yet gay politicians in office in contemporary America, this film acts as a powerful reminder of how intolerant many people can be over an "issue" which is, at worst, a decision over where one man decides to place his penis or where a woman decides not to place the same!
Milk was an important figure in American politics...he was a barrier breaker and an inspiration to thousands of other gay men at a time when life in the closet was not a choice but a necessity. Here Sean Penn portrays him sensitively and accurately.
To see Milk simply as an important gay figure would be to do him and his legacy a great disservice. He was an inspiration to people of whatever "creed" who feel the oppressive nature of society bearing down on them. Get up, stand up...stand up for your rights.
Josh Brolin also gives an excellent performance as Milks eventual assassin, Dan White...a mass of contradictions and inner-demons. His ultimate decision to shoot Milk is portrayed with incredible tension and delicacy.
It's a cliche but this is an inspirational film. What makes that more impressive is that director Gus Van Sant isn't known for the inspirational nature of his work ("Elephant" and his icy "remake" of "Psycho" being good examples) but here he makes something that while tragic is also uplifting and, at times, very funny. A real triumph.
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