IMDb > Milk (2008/I)
Milk
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Milk (2008/I) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 182 | slideshow) Videos (see all 24)
Milk -- This is the theatrical trailer for Gus Van Sant's Milk.
Milk -- Milk: Rally Clip
Milk -- Behind the scenes: Filming a part
Milk -- Interview: Justin Lance Black "On how Harvey Milk affected his life"
Milk -- The story of California's first openly gay elected official, Harvey Milk, a San Francisco supervisor who was assassinated along with Mayor George Moscone by San Francisco Supervisor Dan White.

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Overview

User Rating:
7.9/10   46,923 votes »
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Up 6% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writer (WGA):
Dustin Lance Black (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Milk on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
30 January 2009 (USA) See more »
Genre:
Tagline:
His life changed history. His courage changed lives. See more »
Plot:
The story of Harvey Milk, and his struggles as an American gay activist who fought for gay rights and became California's first openly gay elected official. Full summary » | Full synopsis »
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Won 2 Oscars. Another 34 wins & 56 nominations See more »
User Reviews:
"I am not a candidate, I am part of a movement. The movement is the candidate." See more (249 total) »
US TV Schedule:


Additional Details

Also Known As:
MPAA:
Rated R for language, some sexual content and brief violence.
Runtime:
128 min
Country:
Language:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 See more »
Sound Mix:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Cameo: [Carol Ruth Silver]The real Carol Ruth Silver has a cameo in the film as Thelma.See more »
Goofs:
Incorrectly regarded as goofs: A scene shows Harvey Milk in the opera house during the last act of 'Tosca'. In the next scene (the next day) he says he saw Bidu Sayao (late Brazilian soprano) the night before. While Ms. Sayao never sang the role of 'Tosca', Harvey was actually referring to his date, Bidu Sayao - not anyone on stage.See more »
Quotes:
Harvey Milk:[First lines] This is Harvey Milk speaking on Friday November 18th. This is to be played only in the event of my death by assassination. During one of the early campaigns, I started opening my speeches with the same line and it sort of became my signature... Hello, I'm Harvey Milk, and I'm here to recruit you.See more »
Movie Connections:
Soundtrack:
Queen BitchSee more »

FAQ

At Dan White's trial, how could judge and jury have taken the "Twinkie Defense" seriously?
How much sex, violence, and profanity are in this movie?
A Note Regarding Spoilers
See more »
106 out of 145 people found the following review useful.
"I am not a candidate, I am part of a movement. The movement is the candidate.", 15 December 2008
Author: ametaphysicalshark from prejudicemadeplausible.wordpress.com

"Milk" sees Gus Van Sant return to the mainstream after nearly a decade of divisive 'arthouse' films, a spell he might have felt was necessary after directing "Psycho" and "Finding Forrester" back to back. The stunning, beautiful "Gerry" is still his greatest film in my estimation, but Van Sant's return to near-unanimous mainstream acclaim and some level of box-office success in "Milk" actually isn't too far off as far as Van Sant's filmography goes. Some may express disappointment that "Milk" is a 'conventional' biopic, but it really isn't conventional at all.

True, this could have been the sort of melancholy meditation Van Sant has been going for in recent years, but the best argument against that is that Harvey Milk is not that figure. He's not going to sit quietly and contemplate life. Perhaps he might have before we meet him on the eve of his fortieth birthday, but from that point onwards Harvey Milk was a man of action, of words, a man with the powerful ability to rally people for a cause, and not only gay people. He had a rare sort of energy, and an energetic film was needed to tell his story. Most impressive perhaps about Van Sant's direction and Dustin Lance Black's screenplay is that there are just as many of those melancholic, meditative moments as needed, just enough to make this a compelling character study and not a truly conventional biopic with a hero rather than a main character. The photography here is also simply gorgeous, and the camera work is outstanding, particularly the hand-held work during the rally scenes. It really succeeds in transporting you to 1970's San Francisco.

Sean Penn has frequently annoyed me. I respect his abilities, but reserve the right to express my subjective annoyance at what I perceive as sometimes hilarious over-acting. When I found out that he was going to play Harvey Milk I was nervous, since I have admired Harvey Milk ever since I was first exposed to him through the Rob Epstein documentary "The Times of Harvey Milk", which is still the best movie made about Harvey Milk, with "Milk" running a close second, and I doubt Bryan Singer's "Mayor of Castro Street" will be a serious contender. I had no reason to be nervous. Penn's performance is one of the most vibrant, fascinating, brilliant performances in years, and one of the most convincing and human. It's not a Harvey Milk impression, it's more than just that, but he truly does capture the 'essence' of Milk, if you will.

It is pointless to make a political statement in the body of this review, so take this as one only if you have to: it is disgusting that in 2008 gay rights still a matter of political debate. This film is a powerful, beautiful tribute to the rights movement. It's not a Democrats vs. Republicans film. In fact, it makes it clear that Harvey Milk was once a Republican, and sneaks in footage of Reagan in strong opposition of Proposition 6. Those short scenes should provoke some thought and discussion. They certainly did for me and the people I saw the film with. Ultimately however the film is not about an 'issue'. Harvey Milk says to Dan White that it's not about jobs or rights, that it's their lives that they were and still are fighting for. Ultimately this film is about people, not about issues, not about policy. It's about people who were told they were sick, who were told they were wrong, who were told they would corrupt society, who were accused of being pedophiles and attempting to 'recruit' children to homosexuality. The film is about Harvey Milk, a mere human being who did more for freedom and tolerance than he probably ever understood.

"I am not a candidate, I am part of a movement. The movement is the candidate."

Unfortunately, the fight against the rampant discrimination against and hatred of homosexuals is still not over. Milk's movement lives on, and grows stronger every day. He would be proud of that, and devastated that our society has not truly progressed, but only learned to mask its intolerance and hatred.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Milk (2008)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
I'm sick of people saying that you're homophobic if u hate this movie tjweir1993
did anyone else think that emile as cleve... smarteeangel101
one of the best lead performances of all time Marz_Barz
significance of the opera scene roundface
One of the films that made me cry! The_Thin_White_Duke
Sean Penn jeycee76
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