Milk

Milk tells the story of Harvey Milk the first openly gay person elected to public office in America - he was later assassinated, along with the Mayor of San Francisco, by another City Supervisor.

The film captures the atmosphere of the times well, mixing in some news footage in with the drama, and combines how Harvey Milk motivated various disparate communities in order to get elected along with the personal lives of those involved. However, this is probably the film's weakness.

It can't decide whether to follow the political story - which shows the huge victimisation and bigotry that existed in the States at the time (and there are some parallels with the recent California Proposition 8) - or the personal stories of those involved. Either would make a great drama, but by trying to combine both the film is perhaps weaker than it could have been. I would have loved to delve more into the political story, the personal stories of the characters interested me less. The film also barely touches on why City Supervisor Dan White felt he had to kill Harvey Milk and the City Mayor.

Sean Penn is excellent in the lead role, and Emile Hirsch and Josh Brolin are both good. However, the person who saw it with me said it was 'disengaging' and that is the exact word to use when describing this film. There is a riveting and relevant story to be told here - unfortunately this film fails to make the most of the opportunity given.