I remember being drawn to this film the first time I saw it, even as I had some issues with it. Sean Penn’s Oscar for Best Leading Actor is hardly a surprise, and the film is put together beautifully. Diego Luna’s character is intriguing in this, though the movie doesn’t really seem interested in exploring him—in truth, it’s not really interested in exploring anyone who wasn’t Harvey Milk or Dan White.
After a closeted life in the corporate world, Harvey Milk discovers the beauty, alongside the danger and ugliness, of being out and proud in San Francisco in the 1970s. As he gets more plugged into the community, his efforts turn toward improving their rights and legal protections, which sends him down the path of pursuing a seat in public office. However, his campaigns take a personal toll, alienating loved ones who get tired of coming second to his crusade and becoming a highly visible target for homophobes.
First, I do want to mention that this is a film that goes into Luna’s problematic pile. Though it predated the allegations for either actor, the film features both James Franco and Emile Hirsch in significant roles, particularly Franco as Harvey’s long-suffering boyfriend Scott.
I’ll admit I don’t know enough about Harvey Milk to weigh the accuracy of this biopic. At any rate, the film paints the picture of a man who, once he discovers his tribe, finds something to truly believe in, and he dedicates his life to that cause. This era predates the fight for marriage equality or the war to get Washington to recognize HIV. Instead, Harvey brings his own experience in San Francisco as a small business owner to help protect the livelihoods of gay folks in the Castro, many of whom face workplace discrimination and harassment for living out in the open. As the film goes on, a larger national context involves a crusade to “root out” gay people from working in public education—I know it’s not exactly the same as what a number of states are experiencing now, but it’s way too close, considering these are events that happened over 40 years ago.
There are some details I really like in this story. Near the start of the film, Harvey refers to San Francisco, particularly the Castro, as “the new place for us refugees,” a line that really resonated with me. In recent years, I’ve been thinking more and more about the concept of American refugees. Some have outright left the U.S. as discrimination grew untenable, where others fled one hostile state for the relative safety of another. I find some of Harvey’s campaigning/organizing tactics interesting. From the start, he’s a bridge builder, forming coalitions with local unions in a “you support our community and we’ll support you” way. And later in the film, he takes a controversial stand within his own camp, urging as many of his supporters as possible to come out to their families and coworkers. As anti-gay referendums are looming overhead, his rationale is, “Two to one they’ll vote for us if they know they know one of us.”
In any LGBTQ-themed movie, I feel like I’m always hyper-aware of how intimacy is portrayed. I recognize that 2008 was a very different filmmaking landscape than 2023, but even so, the film definitely shies away from any depictions of physical intimacy. Kisses are often obscured by the lighting or the camera angle, and the film features exactly one seconds-long sex scene—filmed in the dark from pretty far away—and one implied blow job, with the character sliding down out of frame. That said, I think the film does a pretty good job in terms of characters acting in intimate ways even as it backs off from “the deed” itself. The early scenes between Penn and Franco achieve an easy, gentle intimacy as Harvey and Scott simply enjoy being in love, and Luna later does much the same thing. In looks and energy and little touches, it’s clear how much these characters care about each other. When it comes to depicting the physical side of these relationships, not so much.
As Harvey, Sean Penn is as good as you’d expect. Again, I’m not as familiar as I ought to be with Harvey Milk the real person, but I’d imagine Penn’s performance is one that’s heavily shaped by footage of the real Harvey to capture his likeness. By now, we’re long past the point where “playing gay” ought to be considered an award-worthy feat on its own from a straight actor, but Penn’s performance is strong throughout as he embodies Harvey’s fight, his bravery, his uncertainty, his pain, and his triumph. Josh Brolin is nicely restrained/repressed as Dan White, running for a seat in a nearby conservative district. White doesn’t know what to make of Harvey, and as their politics butt up against each other again and again, the differences between the two men come into stark contrast. The film also features, in addition to the aforementioned James Franco and Emile Hirsch, Alison Pill, the always-welcome Victor Garber, Denis O’Hare, and Kelvin Yu (Brian from Master of None.)
Okay now, let’s finally get to Luna! He plays Jack Lira, a secondary love interest for Harvey. Though he’s pretty much immediately shown to be an inferior choice compared to Scott, the character really interests me. He has a lot of baggage, including a tendency to escape into his drug use, a painful rejection from his family, and a neediness that turns vindictive when he doesn’t get the attention he craves.
No one at Harvey’s campaign office likes Jack. He’s derisively referred to as “the Latino,” “the new Mrs. Milk,” and Harvey’s “first lady.” And I get why. He’s something of a loose cannon with a talent for making embarrassing scenes, which isn’t ideal for an aspiring politician. When Jack clings too much or throws a tantrum, you can see everyone around Harvey thinking Scott was a better fit for him.
At the same time, Luna balances the character’s instability with a sweet earnestness. Jack can be very vulnerable, quickly opening up to Harvey about some painful experiences in his past and not hesitating to speak his mind. There’s an exuberance and openness to him—after their initial hookup, he professes his love for Harvey, then laughs when forced to admit that he can’t remember Harvey’s name. I like this mix of light and dark, and I think Luna’s performance allows the character to be a little more complicated than the film portrays him.
Recommend?
In General – I think I would, with the caveats that 1) 2008 was a long time ago in LGBTQ representation, and 2) the history behind this one necessitates that it’s not a “happy gay story.”
Diego Luna – Yes. Luna turns in really nice work here in a type of performance I haven’t often seen from him.
Warnings
Violence (including police brutality and gay bashing,) brief sexual content, language (including homophobic slurs,) drinking/smoking/drug use, and strong thematic elements.
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