Film Review: Milk

I struggled to find my voice as I sat down to write this review…
Reviewed by Lesley Carter

“You can’t live on hope alone, but without hope, life is not worth living.”

T

hirty years after Harvey Milk was gunned down in office, his story has made it to the big screen, and at a time when the main cause driving Milk’s political career once again finds itself publicly embattled. Directed by Gus Van Sant and starring Sean Penn, Milk provides a sensitive, discerning portrait of Harvey Milk’s life and work.

To those unfamiliar with the history, Harvey Milk (Penn) was the first openly gay man elected to public office in the United States. A half-closeted investment banker in Manhattan, Milk moved in the early 1970’s to San Francisco, where he opened a camera shop. Moved to action by the city’s hostility toward its gay community, Milk decided to run for public office. After three failed campaigns, he was elected City Supervisor in 1977.

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Tags: homosexuality