The story of a blameless young boy who kills two criminals, one in self defense and one accidentally unfolds in a maddening fashion. The young boy, whose father died in the line of duty is protected from public revelation of his killings by his father's partner, Charley (Al Pacino). Charlie made a terrible mistake in the way he handled the situation.
Charley questioned Milk (the young boy) outside the project apartments where Milk lived with his grandma, and the other residents saw Milk talking to Charley. Milk had shot a violent junkie criminal, Hanky, with Hanky's own gun, but it was done in self defense when Hanky burst into the apartment where Milk was hiding with his two friends.
The second criminal, Geronimo, then burst into the apartment while Hanky was lying dead. He took Hanky's pistol, and later threatened to tell the cops that Milk had done the shooting unless Milk paid Geronimo $300 that Hanky owed Geronimo. Later, Geronimo killed Milk's little dog and Milk pushed Geronimo who fell down the stairs and broke his own neck.
Neither of these killings were murder. Geronimo had Hanky's pistol on his person when the cops started investigating his death on the stairs, so Geronimo could be blamed for Hanky's murder. Charley did blame Geronimo and closed the case, but he didn't really let Milk know that neither killing was a murder, and that left Milk thinking that he was a murderer.
If Milk (Jonathon, who became a cop when he was 30) had known that he didn't have two murders hanging over his head, everything would have turned out differently. Jonathon hid the two killings from his wife, who would surely have helped him in any way he needed. He was left open to being blackmailed by his boss, a crooked police captain who wanted to advance his own career.
The story is maddening, but it isn't as ridiculously bad as some reviewers claim. Just read the bad reviews and note how wrong the reviewers are about the story line. Apparently they hate the film because they didn't understand what was going on.
It's annoying that Jonathon can't bring himself to trust his wife, and that he is as intent on protecting Charlie's name as he is on keeping his secrets. The story is well acted , though it's also pretty disheartening to watch. It shows how an adult may still feel as powerless as a child when confronted with something from his childhood. I know that feeling well.
Charley questioned Milk (the young boy) outside the project apartments where Milk lived with his grandma, and the other residents saw Milk talking to Charley. Milk had shot a violent junkie criminal, Hanky, with Hanky's own gun, but it was done in self defense when Hanky burst into the apartment where Milk was hiding with his two friends.
The second criminal, Geronimo, then burst into the apartment while Hanky was lying dead. He took Hanky's pistol, and later threatened to tell the cops that Milk had done the shooting unless Milk paid Geronimo $300 that Hanky owed Geronimo. Later, Geronimo killed Milk's little dog and Milk pushed Geronimo who fell down the stairs and broke his own neck.
Neither of these killings were murder. Geronimo had Hanky's pistol on his person when the cops started investigating his death on the stairs, so Geronimo could be blamed for Hanky's murder. Charley did blame Geronimo and closed the case, but he didn't really let Milk know that neither killing was a murder, and that left Milk thinking that he was a murderer.
If Milk (Jonathon, who became a cop when he was 30) had known that he didn't have two murders hanging over his head, everything would have turned out differently. Jonathon hid the two killings from his wife, who would surely have helped him in any way he needed. He was left open to being blackmailed by his boss, a crooked police captain who wanted to advance his own career.
The story is maddening, but it isn't as ridiculously bad as some reviewers claim. Just read the bad reviews and note how wrong the reviewers are about the story line. Apparently they hate the film because they didn't understand what was going on.
It's annoying that Jonathon can't bring himself to trust his wife, and that he is as intent on protecting Charlie's name as he is on keeping his secrets. The story is well acted , though it's also pretty disheartening to watch. It shows how an adult may still feel as powerless as a child when confronted with something from his childhood. I know that feeling well.