FILM FRENZY

Sean Penn in Milk (Photos: Focus Features)

By Matt Brunson

MILK (2008)
★★★★ (out of four)
DIRECTED BY Gus Van Sant
STARS Sean Penn, Josh Brolin

(Thanks to the odious actions of the Trump administration, it’s once again open season on the nation’s LGBTQ+ community. And thanks specifically to the vile Pete Hegseth, it’s gay rights icon Harvey Milk who, despite having died decades ago, is the current target. As a middle finger to the fascists in our midst, here’s an update of my original 2008 review of Milk.)

The China Syndrome, Wall Street, and even Casablanca are examples of movies that happened to be in the right place at the right time — that is to say, life imitated art (or vice versa) as each picture’s release neatly dovetailed with real-life incidents that in one way or another mirrored what was happening on-screen. In a broader sense, Milk follows suit: Although it’s set in the 1970s, it remains forever (and tragically) relevant.

In 2008, when the film was first released, it was topical because of those hideous anti-gay measures that were passed in California, Florida, Arkansas, and Arizona. In 2025, it’s because of the insidious Trump Administration’s anti-DEI (i.e. anti-everyone-who-isn’t-white) decrees, including U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s order to change the name of a ship named after gay rights activist Harvey Milk.

Back in the 1970s, Harvey Milk (played by Sean Penn) fought against similar hysteria and hate-mongering. Milk was tired of homosexuals such as himself being treated as second-class citizens — even in the supposedly liberal city of San Francisco, where he settled — and he found himself drawn to political office as a way in which to fight for equality. It took several attempts, but he finally became the first openly gay person elected to public office in the United States. Elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, he continued to grow in stature and influence, a career ascendancy which did not sit well with Dan White (Josh Brolin), the board’s most conservative member — and, as it turned out, its most trigger-happy.

The Oscar-winning 1984 documentary The Times of Harvey Milk offered a flawless look at the career of this passionate progressive, so it’s a testament to the richness of Gus Van Sant’s direction and Dustin Lance Black’s screenplay that this fictionalized version feels authentic in its every movement. Like George Clooney’s 2005 Good Night, and Good Luck. (another movie involving right-wing zealots and their convenient scapegoats, and reviewed here), Milk expertly mixes archival footage (including interviews with renowned homophobe Anita Bryant) with dramatic recreations, and the climactic candlelight vigil — one of the most stirring sights in 20th century American history — is so expertly handled that it’s inspiring in both its artistic expression and its emotional impact.

As Milk, Penn delivers the performance of his career, and he deservedly earned the Best Actor Academy Award for his performance. (Black also won for Best Original Screenplay, and the movie’s six other nominations included ones for Van Sant, Brolin, and Best Motion Picture.) Full of both passion and purpose, Milk edged past The Wrestler and The Dark Knight to earn my vote as the best picture of 2008.