83
Metascore
39 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertSean 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.
- 100San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleSan Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleWith Milk, a great San Francisco story becomes a great American story.
- 91Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanA fascinating film -- more docudrama than biopic.
- 90The Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttThe Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttThe film is superbly crafted, covering huge amounts of time, people and the zeitgeist without a moment of lapsed energy or inattention to detail.
- 90The New YorkerDavid DenbyThe New YorkerDavid DenbyMilk is a rowdy anthem of triumph, brought to an abrupt halt by Milk's personal tragedies and the unfathomable moral chaos of Dan White.
- 90NPRBob MondelloNPRBob MondelloWhat 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.
- 80VarietyTodd McCarthyVarietyTodd McCarthyBrolin's work is superlatively expressive of the inchoate impulses roiling inside his sorry character. But good as most of the cast is, the show belongs squarely to Penn.
- 80Village VoiceJ. HobermanVillage VoiceJ. HobermanMilk is so immediate that it's impossible to separate the movie's moment from this one.
- 75Portland OregonianShawn LevyPortland OregonianShawn LevyIt's a testament to Van Sant's way with actors that the performances are better than the lines and that the film tugs undeniably at the heart as the awful finale falls. But a lack of poetry and freshness in the writing nags.
- 70New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinNew York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinMilk is one of the most heartfelt portraits of a politician ever made--the man himself remains just out of reach.