Milk review

[alobear]

I finally got around to watching Milk today.  I know it was based on a true story (though some of the details, as ever, have been altered along the way) but, aesthetically, it didn't work as a story arc.  He wasn't killed for being a political activist - he was killed in revenge for his part in preventing a fellow city supervisor from being re-instated.  So, the denouement had nothing at all to do with the main focus of the rest of the film, which felt rather odd from a narrative point of view.  Still, it was an interesting film, which depicted an important time in the gay rights movement, and it certainly resurrected the 70s realistically.  All the cast were good, too, particularly Sean Penn in the title role.  Gus Van Sant is an excellent director, and he merged filmed scenes with archive footage very effectively throughout, which gave the whole thing a very authentic feel.