On the other hand, there are more scenes of male intimacy in Milk than in any other general audience film of its genre – more kissing and fondling and suggestions of further sex play. Again, all this defies the conventional wisdom that straight filmgoers – male and female – are uncomfortable viewing male-on-male intimacy.
—Variety’s Peter Bart, explaining why audiences might be turned away from Sean Penn’s Oscar-worthy performance in Gus Van Sant’s Milk