Review of Milk (2008) by Rachael H — 22 Oct 2010

An intense real life story about the first gay official elected. This film is beautiful and it's length only allows the story to be explored in more depth. It never gets dull and every aspect of Harvey Milk's life is interesting; from the struggles he has with his boyfriends, to not being taken seriously by the police when he complains about discrimination because of his sexuality.

All the leads are played extremely well. James Franco's really good as Scott, delving in and out of Harvey's lovelife and politics. The first scene where these two characters meet is shot really well in all it's beauty and the script instantly makes you like and enjoy the interactions between the two characters. I really wanted them to stay together...

The film captures ten years of Milk's life, before which he "hadn't done anything" It demonstrates really well what he stood for and the emotional conflicts he went through over the years.

The end of the film includes flashbacks of early parts of the film and brings a sense of closure upon the end of an era and the real beginnings of gay rights. It shows what Harvey ddi wasn't for nothing and there's a sweet scene where Scott tells him over the phone "i'm proud of you" After this scene, it's pretty obvious what's coming..but that's shot really well and there's a good use of slow-mo to make the moment more intense as Mlik reflects on the past.

Very enjoyable film, interesting topic - covering a break through moment in history,and good performances from all of the cast. I think this will be a good favourite of mine.