From the opening sequence - with Milk sitting alone, recording his life story to ensure his personal ambitions for the gay and civil liberties movement were properly captured in a sadly accurate premonition of his expected murder - the story is overladen with foreboding for the eventual, tragic assassination of Harvey (and to a far lesser extent, the San Francisco mayor of the time, George Moscone). This sense of dread does not, however, detract from what is an inspiring and uplifting story, performed with incredible skill and charm by Penn (who deservedly won an Oscar for his troubles) and Josh Brolin who is fantastic as the conflicted, grudge-bearing Dan White. In fact, I can't speak highly enough of Brolin, who brought extra dimension to this tumultuous, confused character who may otherwise have been a bit part in Milk's story - despite being his assassin.
A central issue at the time related to Proposition 6, an attempt by conservatives and religious zealots to have gay teachers removed from classrooms due to their presumed corrupting and perverting influence on students. Harvey's intellect is on full display as he debates Briggs, one of the fiercest proponents of Prop 6. We look back and shake our heads now, at this blatant abrogation of civil rights and liberties, but it is amazing to consider that a few short years before we Gen Ys were born, the world was not at all kind to homosexuals, nor accepting of people who were openly different to the norm. Yet Milk opened in US cinemas at a time when Proposition 8 - preventing gay marriage - was being bitterly debated in the US, a reminder that we perhaps haven't come as far as we may think in accepting homosexuality into all forms of civil life (Prop 8 was passed in California in late 2008, preventing recognition of gay marriage).
Another fascinating aspect of Milk, and indeed of American political history, is how a message of hope resonates with American voters. Barack Obama today, Martin Luther King in the 1960s and Harvey Milk in the 1970s all championed the cause of hope. In one of Milk's most well-known speeches, he states:
"And the young gay people ... who are coming out and hear Anita Bryant in television and her story. The only thing they have to look forward to is hope. And you have to give them hope. Hope for a better world, hope for a better tomorrow, hope for a better place to come to if the pressures at home are too great. Hope that all will be all right. Without hope, not only gays, but the blacks, the seniors, the handicapped, the us'es, the us'es will give up. And if you help elect to the central committee and other offices, more gay people, that gives a green light to all who feel disenfranchised, a green light to move forward. It means hope to a nation that has given up, because if a gay person makes it, the doors are open to everyone."
Sound familiar?
As well as spreading his message of hope and acceptance, Milk also sought to empower gay people to become visible and out of the closet to help end the discrimination and violence against them (interestingly, the carrying of a whistle that we see in clubs today was started by Milk in his early days of activism, calling on all gays in San Francisco to carry a whistle and blow on it when trouble came their way to alert others to assist them - generally the trouble came from the police dept, who either violently opposed homosexuality or turned a blind eye to assaults against gays in the community). Milk noted that although we are all entitled to a right to privacy, the privacy gays were forced to live in was the enemy.
In his final statement during his taped prediction of his assassination, he urged homosexuals to come out:
"I cannot prevent anyone from getting angry, or mad, or frustrated. I can only hope that they'll turn that anger and frustration and madness into something positive, so that two, three, four, five hundred will step forward, so the gay doctors will come out, the gay lawyers, the gay judges, gay bankers, gay architects ... I hope that every professional gay will say 'enough', come forward and tell everybody, wear a sign, let the world know. Maybe that will help."
The film is powerful in highlighting the struggle for basic civil liberties confronting the homosexual community at the time, and I think it serves as a reminder today that we should never become complacent about protecting our hard-fought civil liberties and appreciating that the differences amongst us should not be feared or excluded. The charm, wit, empathy and care for others from the Harvey Milks of this world should be cherished - no matter their sexuality, skin colour, age or gender.
Milk is a masterpiece. Five stars.
Some more wall art, now residing in Harvey Milk's old store on Castro Street, and the home of his gay rights movement:
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