10 Greatest Movies About American Politics

Political biopics tend to focus on the seedier side of public life. Rises to power, tussles to maintain control, backbiting and betrayal at the highest level. It’s rare to see a politic film that truly eulogises its subject, because there aren’t so many politicians that deserve such treatment.

Harvey Milk, however, was one such politician, and Gus Van Sant’s sensitive, evocative depiction of the late San Francisco city supervisor is a tribute to its subject without descending into hagiography. Milk was only the third openly gay politician to be elected in the USA, and his story is accordingly fascinating even without his tragic death at the hands of a fellow politician.

Milk is portrayed by Sean Penn in one of the great actor’s finest and most distinctive roles. Penn is as ever passionate and forceful, but he depicts a sweetness here that he rarely gets to tap into. It’s clear that he, like Van Sant, wants to get across the inherent goodness of Harvey Milk.

Starting with the announcement of the murder means even those unfamiliar with history know how this’ll go down, but no matter the bitterness of the ending, this was a life well worth celebrating.