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Milk (2008)
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Sean Penn delivers an unexpected gem of a performance in Gus Van Sant's humane, intelligent biopic of Harvey Milk, who, in 1978, became the first openly gay man to be elected to public office. Milk remained in the closet until he was 40, before moving from New York to San Francisco with a younger boyfriend (James Franco), and discovering a passion for activism. Penn plays him as a warm, attractive character, and an astute politician with none of the tortured angst more typical of his previous roles. However, Milk's growing political success comes at the expense of his personal life, and his relationships with his colleagues, particularly a tightly wound Josh Brolin. Van Sant, reminding us here that he is capable of conventional storytelling as well as such experimental fare as Elephant (2003), wonderfully re-creates the milieu of 1970s San Francisco and handles the material with great skill. And the opening black-and-white archive footage of men being rounded up by police for the crime of going to a gay bar is an unfortunate reminder of very recent history. AS
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Tell us what you think
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Running time
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122min
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Country of origin
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US
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Genre
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Biographical Drama
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Original language
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English
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Screenplay
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Dustin Lance Black
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Theatrical distributor
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Momentum
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UK cinema certificate
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15
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UK cinema release date
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January 2009
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| awards information |
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Award |
Category |
Name |
Nominee/Winner |
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| Academy 2008 |
Actor in a Leading Role |
Sean Penn |
Winner |
| Academy 2008 |
Actor in a Supporting Role |
Josh Brolin |
Nominee |
| Academy 2008 |
Best Picture |
Dan Jinks |
Nominee |
| Academy 2008 |
Best Picture |
Bruce Cohen |
Nominee |
| Academy 2008 |
Directing |
Gus Van Sant |
Nominee |
| Academy 2008 |
Writing (Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen) |
Dustin Lance Black |
Winner |
| British Academy Film Awards 2008 |
Best Film |
Dan Jinks |
Nominee |
| British Academy Film Awards 2008 |
Best Film |
Bruce Cohen |
Nominee |
| British Academy Film Awards 2008 |
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role |
Sean Penn |
Nominee |
| British Academy Film Awards 2008 |
Best Screenplay (Original) |
Dustin Lance Black |
Nominee |
| Golden Globe 2008 |
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture Drama |
Sean Penn |
Nominee |
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Film certification logos reproduced by kind permission of BBFC |
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