Milk (2008)

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.

Director:

Gus Van Sant

Writer:

Dustin Lance Black

Stars:

Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch

Won 2 Oscars. Another 64 wins & 142 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sean Penn	...	Harvey Milk
Emile Hirsch	...	Cleve Jones
Josh Brolin	...	Dan White
Diego Luna	...	Jack Lira
James Franco	...	Scott Smith
Alison Pill	...	Anne Kronenberg
Victor Garber	...	Mayor Moscone
Denis O'Hare	...	John Briggs
Joseph Cross	...	Dick Pabich
Stephen Spinella	...	Rick Stokes
Lucas Grabeel	...	Danny Nicoletta
Brandon Boyce	...	Jim Rivaldo
Howard Rosenman	...	David Goodstein (as Zvi Howard Rosenman)
Kelvin Yu	...	Michael Wong
Jeff Koons	...	Art Agnos

Storyline

Using flashbacks from a statement recorded late in life and archival footage for atmosphere, this film traces Harvey Milk's career from his 40th birthday to his death. He leaves the closet and New York, opens a camera shop that becomes the salon for San Francisco's growing gay community, and organizes gays' purchasing power to build political alliances. He runs for office with lover Scott Smith as his campaign manager. Victory finally comes on the same day Dan White wins in the city's conservative district. The rest of the film sketches Milk's relationship with White and the 1978 fight against a statewide initiative to bar gays and their supporters from public school jobs.

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Plot Keywords:

gay activist | gay | gay rights | california | gay pickup | 

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Taglines:

Never blend in

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, some sexual content and brief violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

The only film that year nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, and not in Best Motion Picture Drama at the Golden Globes.

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Goofs

In the camera shop during Milk's 1973 campaign for supervisor, the song "Rock the Boat" by the Hues Corporation played in the background. But that song wasn't released until the summer of 1974, by which time Milk had already cut his hair short and was clean shaven. In the film the clean-cut Harvey Milk didn't appear until the beginning of the 1975 campaign.

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Quotes

McConnely: There's Man's Law and there's God's Law in this neighborhood.
Harvey Milk: Uh huh.
McConnely: And in this city.
Scott Smith: You know, we pay taxes!
McConnely: The San Francisco Police Force is happy to enforce either. Have a good day.
[leaves]
Harvey Milk: [calling after him] Yeah, thank you for the warm welcome to the neighborhood!
[to Scott]
Harvey Milk: Schmuck.

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Connections

References The Boys in the Band (1970)

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Soundtracks

Rock the Boat
Written by Wally Holmes
Performed by The Hues Corporation
Courtesy of JiMi Lane Music

User Reviews

Van Sant delivers a great marriage of art and history

Just caught the Portland premiere and have a few thoughts.

Very thankful this film was made. Until now, it seemed like I was fairly alone in knowing about Harvey's legacy. After "Milk" starts getting attention....I hope that a whole new generation will come to know the Mayor of Castro Street (see Randy Shilt's book) and the importance of the gay rights movement.

That being said, Van Sant's "Milk" is great marriage of art and history. Instead of a dry portrait of an assasinated leader, we get a beautifully rendered flavor of the times, and an intimate vision of a man finding his place within a community and history.

Casting is brilliant. Penn inhabits Harvey Milk in a way that few actors I believe would be capable. His physicality and energy is very believable - and it's easy to forget what actor you're watching. After a while...it's just Harvey. I could go on about the supporting cast...all very solid in their own way. James Franco (Scotty) stands out as well....showing his range and willingness to expand as an actor.

Kudos all the way around...I see this film getting several nods at Oscar time.

Additionally...Rob Epstein's Oscar-winning 1984 documentary "The Times of Harvey Milk" is a definite must for anyone who enjoyed this film. I watched it right after "Milk" - and am still impressed with how affecting it is.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 January 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Untitled Harvey Milk Project

Filming Locations:

San Francisco Fire Department, Fire Station 43 - 720 Moscow St, San Francisco, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,453,844, 30 November 2008

Gross USA:

$31,841,299

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$54,589,558

Company Credits

Production Co:

Focus Features, Axon Films, Groundswell Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1