January 28, 2009 -- This biopic captures a spirited portrait of Harvey Milk, the first openly homosexual person to serve in a major office in the United States. The film, however, gives short shrift to Milk's nemesis, the enigmatic Dan White. This is one of the best films of 2008, with exceptional acting and a well-written story. While it didn't make my top 10 list for the year, since it is truly very conventional, it is certainly in the top 20. It makes for an excellent history lesson for those unfamiliar with the gay rights movement at this time in history.

The story starts with Harvey (played by Sean Penn), a closeted gay working for an insurance firm in New York, to his election to the San Francisco city council (they call councilors “supervisors” in San Francisco, but it is the same idea) to his successful campaign to defeat a California proposition which would have outlawed gay people from teaching in public schools. It covers the early battles in the 1970s between Milk and gay-rights supporters across the country against conservative Christian activists, primarily Anita Bryant. Bryant and others helped to pass a series of initiatives around the country against gay equal rights laws which had been on the books. The successful campaign was similar to current successful campaigns to outlaw gay marriage. The difference is those anti-gay campaigns in the 1970s were more honest than the current ones. Bryant and her supporters were flat out trying to deny rights to homosexuals, none of this nonsense about merely “fixing the definition of marriage.” The hatred against homosexuals was more naked in those days, and more honest. The hatred is still there, but it is obscured by double talk.

The movie not only details Milk's triumphs, but his failures, both in policy and in his personal life. After repeated city council election failures in San Francisco, he says at one point, “I don't know if I have another one (campaign) in me.” The movie is organized as a series of flashbacks around Harvey as he tape records his memoirs (just in case he is assassinated) during the last year of his life. This loose narrative structure works well. Penn gives a compelling performance as Harvey, surrounded by a solid supporting cast, headed by Josh Brolin playing Dan White, who is Harvey Milk's nemesis.

Dan White is a character who is as interesting as Milk. In the film, he is portrayed as being possibly a closeted homosexual, but that seems more like a cheap shot than a plausible explanation for his increasingly out of control behavior. It is about as plausible as his famous “twinkie defense.” More likely the key to White is his failed marriage and his financial troubles. There is also a scene which seems to indicate some kind of conspiracy to put White back on the city council after he had resigned from it. After viewing the film, Dan White remains as elusive a historical figure as ever. Little light is shed on a character who is so central to the story. Otherwise, the film is filled with passion and power. It shows that gay people are much the same as everyone else, warmed by the sun and cooled by the winter. They go through the same joy and broken-hearted pain of love as the rest of us do. Their bones break when they are beaten and they die when shot. It rates a B+.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in video and/or DVD format, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

Copyright © 2009 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

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