RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Found a Bug? Squash It! Report Bugs Here
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / Upcoming / Milk
Milk

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Buy Poster External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Milk (2008)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
93 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:215

Fresh:201

Rotten:14

Average Rating:8/10

Consensus: Anchored by Sean Penn's powerhouse performance, Milk is a triumphant account of America's first openly gay man elected to public office.

Australian Rating: MA15+ [See Full Rating] Mature themes, coarse language and sexual references

Runtime: 2 hrs 9 mins

Genre: Dramas

Australian Theatrical Release:
Jan 29, 2009 Wide

US Box Office: $31,716,847

Synopsis: In 1977, Harvey Milk was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, becoming the first openly gay man to be voted into public office in America. His victory was not just a victory for gay... In 1977, Harvey Milk was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, becoming the first openly gay man to be voted into public office in America. His victory was not just a victory for gay rights; he forged coalitions across the political spectrum. From senior citizens to union workers, Harvey Milk changed the very nature of what it means to be a fighter for human rights and became, before his untimely death in 1978, a hero for all Americans. Sean Penn stars as Harvey Milk under the direction of Gus Van Sant in Milk, filmed on location in San Francisco from an original screenplay by Dustin Lance Black, and produced by Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen. Milk charts the last eight years of Harvey Milk’s life. While living in New York City, he turns 40. Looking for more purpose, Milk and his lover Scott Smith (James Franco) relocate to San Francisco, where they found a small business, Castro Camera, in the heart of a working-class neighborhood. With his beloved Castro neighborhood and beautiful city empowering him, Milk surprises Scott and himself by becoming an outspoken agent for change. With vitalizing support from Scott and from new friends like young activist Cleve Jones (Emile Hirsch), Milk plunges headfirst into the choppy waters of politics. Bolstering his public profile with humor, Milk’s actions speak even louder than his gift-of-gab words. When Milk is elected supervisor for the newly zoned District 5, he tries to coordinate his efforts with those of another newly elected supervisor, Dan White (Josh Brolin). But as White and Milk’s political agendas increasingly diverge, their personal destinies tragically converge. Milk’s platform was and is one of hope – a hero’s legacy that resonates in the here and now. --© Focus Features [More]

Starring: Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin, Diego Luna

Starring: Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin, Diego Luna, James Franco

Director: Gus Van Sant

Director: Gus Van Sant
Screenwriter: Dustin Lance Black
Producer: Dan Jinks, Bruce Cohen
Composer: Danny Elfman
Studio: Focus Features

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
  • Pictures
  • Trailer
    >
    Rally
    >
    Anne Kronenberg
    >
    Is He Cute?
    >
  • Birthday
    >
    Cake
    >
    My New Theatre
    >
    The Most Wonderful Dinner
    >
1 - 4 of 8

See More Movie Trailers & Pictures

Reviews for Milk

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
 
 
121 - 140 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Finely wrought film conveys the humanity of the main character while never devolving into hagiography.

Full Review Source: Denton Record Chronicle (TX) | comment Comment
11/27/08
Boo Allen
Boo Allen
Denton Record Chronicle (TX)

Penn and director Gus Van Sant play Milk's sexual orientation with candor that never dips into cartoonishness -- it's refreshing and true and manly

Full Review Source: I.E. Weekly | comment Comment
11/27/08
Amy Nicholson
Amy Nicholson
I.E. Weekly

Just as Tom Hanks put a face to AIDS in 1993's Philadelphia, Sean Penn has now put a face to gay rights as Harvey Milk in the new Gus Van Sant true-story film Milk.

Full Review Source: HollywoodChicago.com | comment Comment
11/27/08
Adam Fendelman
Adam Fendelman
HollywoodChicago.com

It puts Harvey Milk back on his soap box, where his unyielding commitment to his issue cost him his life.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Insiders | comment Comment
11/27/08
Jonathan W. Hickman
Jonathan W. Hickman
Entertainment Insiders

Penn completely disappears to make Harvey Milk into one of the most charismatic figures you have ever seen on a movie screen

Full Review Source: WaffleMovies.com | comment 1 Comment
11/26/08
Willie Waffle
Willie Waffle
WaffleMovies.com

Intellectually compelling and emotionally heartrending, Milk is one of the most profound and inspiring presentations of an American political leader I have ever seen.

Full Review Source: Colorado Springs Gazette | comment Comment
11/26/08
Brandon Fibbs
Brandon Fibbs
Colorado Springs Gazette

Sean Penn delivers a brilliant, transformational performance.

Full Review Source: FilmsInReview.com | comment 3 Comments
11/26/08
Victoria Alexander
Victoria Alexander
FilmsInReview.com

This film wants us to understand both how far we've come as a society and that it is still not far enough.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment 16 Comments
11/26/08
Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Once in a while, a movie arrives at such a perfect moment, its message and meaning so finely tuned to the current zeitgeist, that it seems less a cinematic event than a cosmic convergence, willed into being by a once-in-a-lifetime alignment of the stars.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment 4 Comments
11/26/08
Ann Hornaday
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Milk is so immediate that it's impossible to separate the movie's moment from this one.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
11/26/08
J. Hoberman
J. Hoberman
Village Voice

Milk has one of the finest ensemble casts this year and a magnificent, career-topping performance by Sean Penn, who disappears into the title role.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
11/26/08
Claudia Puig
Claudia Puig
USA Today
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Van Sant has made something very rare in Hollywood -- a genuinely powerful political film that works equally well as a story of personal triumph.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
11/26/08
Perry Seibert
Perry Seibert
TV Guide's Movie Guide

The film understandably and movingly centres itself on Penn's portrayal of a hedonist-turned-activist who discovered that in order to change his world, he had to find his voice.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
11/26/08
Peter Howell
Peter Howell
Toronto Star

What the film lacks in daring narrative it makes up for with its electric portrayal of its radical subject.

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
11/26/08
Melissa Anderson
Melissa Anderson
Time Out New York

Van Sant's film (and why did it take 24 years after the documentary to make this stirring, heartbreaking story a feature film?) finally gives Milk his due -- and becomes an immediate classic of gay cinema.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment 2 Comments
11/26/08
Moira MacDonald
Moira MacDonald
Seattle Times

It feels authentic in every frame.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
11/26/08
William Arnold
William Arnold
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

It's a measure of the film's breadth and intelligence that it is almost as interested in White as Milk. White is not depicted as a cartoonish villain but as a frustrated, emotionally underdeveloped man who lashed out at a low point in his life.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
11/26/08
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

It's nice to see Penn play a character of Spicoli-like sweetness and openness, rather than the glowering lugs that have become his specialty.

Full Review Source: Slate | comment Comment
11/26/08
Dana Stevens
Dana Stevens
Slate

I don't know that this is Penn's best performance, overall -- let's have that debate some other time -- but as far as the mannered, immersive impersonations of his later career go, Harvey Milk takes the cake.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
11/26/08
Andrew O'Hehir
Andrew O'Hehir
Salon.com

Milk represents a thought provoking, cathartic, and mostly true tale of politics and courage.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
11/26/08
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
 
 
121 - 140 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 >> >|
all

Latest News for Milk

March 09, 2009: RT on DVD: Rachel Getting Married, Milk Lead Super Fresh New Releases
Home video enthusiasts, prepare yourself for what may be the best week ever! This week you'll have to choose between Academy Award flicks Rachel Getting Married (Best Actress... More...

February 24, 2009: Backstage at the Oscars: My First Time
In the movie world there is no event greater, no red carpet glitzier, no awards show more meaningful, than that of the Academy Awards. While millions watch the biggest night... More...

February 01, 2009: Slumdog's Danny Boyle Wins DGA Award
Danny Boyle takes home another win for Best Director from the Director's Guild of America -- could Oscar gold be just around the corner? See who else was nominated this year in... More...

January 27, 2009: Milk Among GLAAD Nominees Opens in new window
"Milk" has been a favorite on the awards circuit this year, and its hot streak has been extended courtesy of the GLAAD Media Awards, where it will compete in the Outstanding... More...

See All

More Movies

Coming Soon in Australia
Tomatometer Percentage Movie Date

70% 70% Where the Wild Things Are 03/12
84% 84% Paranormal Activity 03/12
89% 89% Zombieland 03/12
76% 76% The Informant! 03/12
— The Strength of Water 03/12

What’s Hot On RT

Ban Them All!

Ban Them All!

10 Most Controversial Movies

Zombieland

Zombieland

Director Ruben Fleischer's favourites

New Avatar action

New Avatar action

Watch an exclusive chase clip from the film

Kids' Book Films

Kids' Book Films

We fly through 10 of the best

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Weekly Ketchup: Zombieland 2 in 3D?
15
  • First Look (Sort Of) at New Nightmare's Freddy Source: ShockTillYouDrop.com
24
  • First Look at Shrek Forever After Source: USA Today
48
  • Woody Harrelson Will Battle Zombies in 3-D Source: Moviehole
26
  • Natalie Portman Says Kat Denning Is in Thor Source: MTV
34
  • Disney Restructuring Has Broad Implications Source: Los Angeles Times
10
  • Joel Silver Talks Ninja Assassin, Sgt. Rock, Lobo, and More Source: Collider.com
1
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
126
  • Idris Elba Joins Thor Source: Hollywood Reporter
112
  • Jackass 3D Coming in 2010? Source: Collider.com
32
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: New Moon Shatters Records
181
  • Total Recall: John Travolta's Best Movies
90
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
63
  • 5 Facts About The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
62
  • Ban Them All! 10 Infamously Controversial Movies
59
  • Critics Consensus: Flee From Ninja Assassin
44
  • Friday Harvest: The Road, Avatar, and more!
35
  • Five Favorite Films With Zombieland Director Ruben Fleischer
22
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
16
  • Weekly Ketchup: Zombieland 2 in 3D?
5
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
16
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
11
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
21
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
8
  • RT on DVD: Wassup, Bruno
3
  • Scott Hicks Talks The Boys Are Back
0
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Richard Kelly chats about The Box
2
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
21
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
8
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Milk at Rotten Tomatoes
  • Milk at IGN

Fresh Links

Featured
Dressing Wonderland
Dressing Wonderland External Link

Tim Burton's costume designer talks to Movieline about her long collaboration with the filmmaker and Johnny Depp.

Wes Anderson on Fox
Wes Anderson on Fox External Link

The director talks about puppetry perfection and his film, Fantastic Mr. Fox

Win Glee DVDs
Win Glee DVDs External Link

We've got 20 copies of the hit TV series' Pilot Episode to giveaway.

Win tickets to Cold Souls
Win tickets to Cold Souls External Link

Double passes up for grabs to the new comedy starring Paul Giamatti.

Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Twitter
Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Twitter External Link

Get all the latest movie updates, reviews, interviews and features here.

Competitions
Win Star Wars prizes
Win Star Wars prizes External Link

Enough Prequel, Original Trilogy and Family Guy DVDs to fill a space cruiser

Win the entire 007 collection
Win the entire 007 collection External Link

Everything from Dr. No to Quantum of Solace could be yours.

Win Fight Club Special Editions and more
Win Fight Club Special Editions and more External Link

We're giving away the 10th Anniversary Blu-ray, plus Braveheart and the Rocky collection

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.