most people know sean penn is an amazing actor and has done some great films but i think this is truly one of the best performances of all time anyone agree?
so glad he won the oscar, well deserved
He was amazing. Ive seen the documentary The Life and Times of Harvey Milk, and Sean Penn was incredible, it was like actually watching Harvey!
shareI have also seen the documentary and couldn't agree with you more. Penn was perfect and it is one of the greatest performances of all time. I'd put it up there with DDL in There Will be Blood.
shareFinally got to see this film, only on DVD unfortunately, but What a Performance ... truly a towering effort from Sean Penn. Outstanding
shareI agree! I've also seen the Harvey Milk documentary and was stunned by how Sean Penn disappeared into the role. His facial expressions, movement, voice, and mannerisms--every detail brought forth the Milk I saw in archival footage. It was hard to remember I was seeing an actor and not the real man!
Usually biopics are awkward, since the actor doesn't look or act exactly like the celebrity they're trying to be--all you can think of is how "off" the actor is. But fortunately that was not the case with "Milk." Bravo, Mr. Penn!!
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It was a great performance, and a good movie. But I still personally believe Mickey Rourke should have won for his performance.
shareI just saw " Milk " for the first time tonight. I loved it, and i would watch it again. Sean definately deserved the Oscar for this film, and also the Oscar he won for " Mystic river " !.
shareThis.
shareBest performances of all time? Uh, no. It wasn't even the best performance of 2008. Mickey Rourke was better.
BTW, I like Penn. I like what Harvey Milk stood for. The doc on him is much better.
I think you're replying to the wrong comment, I was literally even agreeing with someone who said Rourke deserved it.
shareI've only just watched this movie and I totally agree.
shareJust watched it again. I agreed on the first viewing and agree now on what was probably my 5th.
Brilliant performance. I forgot I was watching Sean Penn.
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I don't know if it was one of the best, even if Sean Penn was incredible, I wanted to say this was the best movie I've seen in probably 5 years, although I'm a sucker for our civil rights heroes, and Harvey Milk is one of them.
shareIt's not only one of Sean's best performances, but also one of the best lead performances of all time.Those who have seen The Times of Harvey Milk know just how perfectly Penn played Milk.It's truly a remarkable performance.I'd put it up there with my all-time favorites, which are Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight, Robert De Niro in Raging Bull and of course Sean in Mystic River.
shareActually Penn's performance in this movie is at least 10 times better than that in Mystic River. I wasn't impressed by his charachter at all and I think that 2003 was a very weak year in acting (even Johnny Depp was nominated for Pirates of the Caribbean 1!!!).
shareI thought Penn was very good in Mystic River, but the clear best of the nominees was Ben Kingsley for his career-best turn in House of Sand and Fog.
Yes, Penn's turn in Milk is one of the great performances of recent years, and the best performance to win the best actor Oscar for years if not decades. Poor Mickey Rourke... his terrific performance in The Wrestler had the misfortune of coming out against Penn. Almost any other recent year he'd have walked it.
I was not impressed, Rourke schooled him hands down that year and IMO people who take these roles which are super obvious attempts to garner awards should be banned from the Oscars. They seem to have gotten the whole mental disability = good acting out of their system but I suppose a bunch of straight actors being daring enough to play gays is still ringing someone's bell. Far as I'm concerned Sean Penn is a pompous *beep* and it's all been downhill since Shanghai Surprise.
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IMO people who take these roles which are super obvious attempts to garner awards should be banned from the Oscars
Yah, I bet you like watching Sean Penn be gay huh?
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IMHO Sean Penn and Daniel Day-Lewis (perhaps Philip Seymour-Hoffman too) are the best actors currently working.
I've seen all of them playing flawlessly the most different roles that we can imagine.
Talking exclusively about Sean Penn's best performance... it's hard to choose one. I mean he was equally fantastic in 'Dead Man Walking', '21 Grams', 'Mystic River' and 'Milk'. It would be very difficult to pick one over the other.
i agree. Sean Penn is an amazing actor. who would have thought that the guy in Fast Times at Ridgemont High would go on to be such a great actor? for that matter who would have thought that Jessica Lange would be so great after seeing her debut in King Kong?
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Benicio Del Toro gave one of the five best performances I´ve ever seen in Things we lost in the fire and due to no one seeing the film didn´t get as much as a Luisiana critics award nom. His performance in 21 Grams was as important and big as Penns,one of three leads,still he was insulted by being nominated for best supporting actor and Penn leading(except by BAFTA who concidered both guys leading)...
Day-Lewis gave the best performance I´ve ever seen in Gangs of new york but was due to his extreme fame,a 5-year absence from film and stealing the show put in best Leading when he had a big supporting role...so nominations doesn´t always make sense alá Brokeback or Training day.
Penns Oscar for Mystic River was for also for his work in 21 Grams and this compensation thing is really a big part of the Oscars. You can chose to put as much stock in Broadcast critics awards for instance,Oscars and the nominations are getting more and more bought by studios due to extreme campaigning....
Penn was really good here,brave work but I do admit getting a bit tired with the pretentions. Directing or acting regardless,he always takes himself too seriously,always existential dramas that are real downers filled with angst. He knows his craft well but I would really welcome a comedy.
Brolin was criminally overlooked in 2008 due to Ledgers passing.
With the performances that include voiceacting(almost the only one who does that besides DDL) and mannerisms,as in Penn style becoming the character and erasing ones personality,I say Benicio Del Toro with 21 Grams,Things we lost,The usual suspects,Sin City,Che,Traffic,Fear and loathing etc. is the best one working today...sparse but amazing.
I agree that is was an amazing performance although I would have doubts about putting it in the best of all time, perhaps I'll come to appreciate it more over the next few years but I think currently it is too early to call it one of the best performances of all time.
Penn was really good but not in the big leagues of all time.
I only sort of liked the film. It was a decent watch and I'm glad I saw it because Gus van Sant is a good director.
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