Milk
Metascore
84 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 39 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 38 out of 39
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 39
  3. Negative: 0 out of 39
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  1. Rolling Stone
    Reviewed by: Peter Travers
    100
    It's a total triumph, brimming with humor, heart, sexual heat, political provocation and a crying need to stir things up, just like Harvey did. If there's a better movie around this year, with more bristling purpose, I sure as hell haven't seen it.
  2. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    100
    Sean Penn never tries to show Harvey Milk as a hero, and never needs to. He shows him as an ordinary man, kind, funny, flawed, shrewd, idealistic, yearning for a better world.
  3. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Lou Lumenick
    100
    Smiling more than in all of his movies since "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" combined, Penn goes way deep and soulful in a highly ingratiating performance that's the one to beat for the Best Actor Oscar.
  4. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Mick LaSalle
    100
    With Milk, a great San Francisco story becomes a great American story.
  5. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Perry Seibert
    100
    Harvey Milk embodied the concept that "all politics is personal," and by presenting the famed Mayor of Castro Street's personal and public lives with such clarity and empathy, Van Sant has made something very rare in Hollywood -- a genuinely powerful political film that works equally well as a story of personal triumph.
  6. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Wesley Morris
    100
    By nearly every measure, Milk is a beautifully made, far less conventional movie biography than most.
  7. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: A.O. Scott
    100
    Harvey Milk was an intriguing, inspiring figure. Milk is a marvel.
  8. Slate
    Reviewed by: Dana Stevens
    100
    Gus Van Sant and screenwriter Dustin Lance Black pull off something very close to magic. They make a film that's both historically precise and as graceful, unpredictable, and moving as a good fiction film--that is to say, a work of art.
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  9. Time
    Reviewed by: Richard Corliss
    100
    Three decades ago, Milk and his ilk were able to enlist President Jimmy Carter and future President Ronald Reagan in the gay fight against Prop. 6. But this fall, Barack Obama was all but mute on Prop. 8. Some community organizers, like the President-elect, are more cautious than others. It's a shame Harvey Milk wasn't around to recruit him.
  10. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Ann Hornaday
    100
    What makes Milk extraordinary isn't just that it's a nuanced, stirring portrait of one of the 20th century's most pivotal figures, but that it's also a nuanced, stirring portrait of the thousands of people he energized.
  11. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Owen Gleiberman
    91
    A fascinating film -- more docudrama than biopic.
  12. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: William Arnold
    91
    Though it's unflinching in its depiction of homosexual affection, the marvel of the movie is the dexterity with which it transcends the specificity of its characters and gay theme to be a universal human statement and profound political epic.
  13. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Kirk Honeycutt
    90
    The film is superbly crafted, covering huge amounts of time, people and the zeitgeist without a moment of lapsed energy or inattention to detail.
  14. NPR
    Reviewed by: Bob Mondello
    90
    What sets this film entertainingly apart from most civil-rights sagas, though, are a slew of relaxed, offhandedly persuasive performances, along with the flamboyance of hippie-era San Francisco.
  15. The New Yorker
    Reviewed by: David Denby
    90
    Milk is a rowdy anthem of triumph, brought to an abrupt halt by Milk's personal tragedies and the unfathomable moral chaos of Dan White.
  16. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Phillips
    88
    The story of Harvey Milk is a tragedy, but not since Jeff Spicoli in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" has Sean Penn played such a serenely happy individual.
  17. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Claudia Puig
    88
    Penn's Oscar-caliber transformation is breathtaking, and the saga of one man's fight for human rights is engrossing.
  18. ReelViews
    Reviewed by: James Berardinelli
    88
    Milk feels like an important picture, but not in a way that makes it tedious to watch. There's no pretentious sheen to the proceedings.
  19. Baltimore Sun
    Reviewed by: Michael Sragow
    88
    It's not a great movie, but it is an enlivening and unusual one: an effervescent political film that also packs a knockout punch.
  20. Charlotte Observer
    Reviewed by: Lawrence Toppman
    88
    Whatever you think of gay people (or politicians), you may find the movie compelling viewing.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.6 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 261 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 76 out of 101
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 101
  3. Negative: 17 out of 101
  1. DerekW.
    9
    Mixed with actual footage from the time, this movie recounts the incredible achievement and sudden murder of a charismatic and really determined homosexual man, thrust into activism by his personal experience of American homophobia, fear-fuelled religious bigotry and ignorance. The story should give everyone with a keen sense of injustice and the power to communicate, the hope to persevere. Harvey Milk's message is most cogently communicated in landmark live debates and public speeches that invoke the Constitution of the United States, and the Statue of Liberty dedication, two cornerstones of democracy that underpin the struggle for freedom of other oppressed demographics in the United States. I was struck by the performance of Sean Penn and his unbelievably hot on-screen boyfriend James Franco. Penn and script writer Dustin Black won Oscars for this movie, and I believe that will contribute significantly to this movie's longevity. It is mainly of interest to those who, like myself, have lived through the dark ages when homosexuality resulted in discrimination, disenfranchisement, imprisonment, violence, ostracism from family and condemnation by The Church. Given that homosexuals are a minority, it will never be a blockbuster, but to us and our families and to historians of curiosity, it is a milestone accomplishment. Speaking for myself, I felt compelled to support this movie even though it is a very painful experience to relive those horrible days, and surprised myself by my immersion in the story, even laughing out loud at some of its lighter moments.… Full Review »
  2. Steve
    8
    The performance that Sean Penn gives is very good. You could tell when watching the movie that Sean Penn was truly dedicated to playing the role of Harvey Milk. He totally immersed himself into the lead character acting with strong conviction, absolute confidence and complete believability.… Full Review »
  3. Adam
    10
    Milk is one of those rare movies that tries to be many things, and succeeds at all of them. This is a film that can provoke change, open eyes, and change lives. I know it changed mine.… Full Review »
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