Movies Like Milk (2008)

Milk is a 2008 drama, history film from Gus Van Sant with a MovieMagicScore of 7.2/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with The Times of Harvey Milk and 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi.

Drama History

The Times of Harvey Milk

1984

Harvey Milk was an outspoken human rights activist and one of the first openly gay U.S. politicians elected to public office; even after his assassination in 1978, he continues to inspire disenfranchised people around the world.

7.2

MagicScore

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

2016

An American Ambassador is killed during an attack at a U.S. compound in Libya as a security team struggles to make sense out of the chaos.

7.3

MagicScore

Serpico

1973

New York cop Frank Serpico blows the whistle on the rampant corruption in the force only to have his comrades turn against him.

7.5

MagicScore

Prayers for Bobby

2009

Bobby Griffith was his mother's favorite son, the perfect all-American boy growing up under deeply religious influences in Walnut Creek, California. Bobby was also gay. Struggling with a conflict no one knew of, much less understood, Bobby finally came out to his family.

8.1

MagicScore

Confessions of a Congressman

1978

Roberto, a leader and follower of the ideals of his radical leftist opposition party, can’t resist the cheap beautiful street teenagers that are thrown his way for various pleasures.

6.0

MagicScore

What's Love Got to Do with It

1993

Singer Tina Turner rises to stardom while mustering the courage to break free from her abusive husband Ike.

7.1

MagicScore

Marley & Me

2008

A newly married couple, in the process of starting a family, learn many of life's important lessons from their trouble-loving retriever, Marley. Packed with plenty of laughs to lighten the load, the film explores the highs and lows of marriage, maturity and confronting one's own mortality, as seen through the lens of family life with a dog.

7.2

MagicScore

The Imitation Game

2014

Based on the real life story of legendary cryptanalyst Alan Turing, the film portrays the nail-biting race against time by Turing and his brilliant team of code-breakers at Britain's top-secret Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park, during the darkest days of World War II.

8.0

MagicScore

Kingmaker

2022

Seo Chang-dae, an ambitious political campaign strategist who ends up having ideological differences with his present client, receives a lucrative offer that will put his loyalty under the microscope.

7.1

MagicScore

#10

Circus of Books

2019

For decades, a nice Jewish couple ran Circus of Books, a porn shop and epicenter for gay LA. Their director daughter documents their life and times.

6.9

MagicScore

#11

Philadelphia

1993

Two competing lawyers join forces to sue a prestigious law firm for AIDS discrimination. As their unlikely friendship develops their courage overcomes the prejudice and corruption of their powerful adversaries.

7.7

MagicScore

#12

Third Man Out: A Donald Strachey Mystery

2005

Gay detective Donald Strachey is commissioned to protect gay activist John Rutka, known for "outing" prominent citizens.

5.6

MagicScore

#13

The Trials of Oscar Wilde

1960

England, 1890s. The brutal and embittered Marquis of Queensberry, who believes that his youngest son, Bosie, has an inappropriate relationship with the famous Irish writer Oscar Wilde, maintains an ongoing feud with the latter in order to ruin his reputation and cause his fall from grace.

6.3

MagicScore

#14

Honest Candidate

2020

Sang-sook is a competent politician who captivates the public with all kinds of nice words. One day, Sang-sook visits her grandmother who lives in the isolated house. But when she returns home, she finds out that she is not able to lie anymore.

6.2

MagicScore

#15

Stonewall

2015

Kicked out by his parents, a gay teenager leaves small-town Indiana for New York's Greenwich Village, where growing discrimination against the gay community leads to riots on June 28, 1969.

6.0

MagicScore

#16

Bohemian Rhapsody

2018

Singer Freddie Mercury, guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor and bass guitarist John Deacon take the music world by storm when they form the rock 'n' roll band Queen in 1970. Hit songs become instant classics. When Mercury's increasingly wild lifestyle starts to spiral out of control, Queen soon faces its greatest challenge yet – finding a way to keep the band together amid the success and excess.

8.0

MagicScore

#17

Tom of Finland

2017

Touko Laaksonen, a decorated officer, returns home after a harrowing and heroic experience serving his country in World War II, but life in Finland during peacetime proves equally distressing. He finds peace-time Helsinki rampant with persecution of the homosexual and men around him even being pressured to marry women and have children. Touko finds refuge in his liberating art, specialising in homoerotic drawings of muscular men, free of inhibitions. His work – made famous by his signature ‘Tom of Finland’ – became the emblem of a generation of men and fanned the flames of a gay revolution.

6.6

MagicScore

#18

Thank You for Smoking

2005

Nick Naylor is a charismatic spin-doctor for Big Tobacco who'll fight to protect America's right to smoke -- even if it kills him -- while still remaining a role model for his 12-year old son. When he incurs the wrath of a senator bent on snuffing out cigarettes, Nick's powers of "filtering the truth" will be put to the test.

7.2

MagicScore

#19

The Laramie Project

2002

"The Laramie Project" is set in and around Laramie, Wyoming, in the aftermath of the murder of 21-year-old Matthew Shepard. To create the stage version of "The Laramie Project," the eight-member New York-based Tectonic Theatre Project traveled to Laramie, Wyoming, recording hours of interviews with the town's citizens over a two-year period. The film adaptation dramatizes the troupe's visit, using the actual words from the transcripts to create a portrait of a town forced to confront itself.

6.2

MagicScore

#20

Kiss of the Spider Woman

1985

The story of two radically different men thrown together in a Latin American prison cell. One is Valentin, a journalist being tortured for his political beliefs. The other is Molina, a gay window-dresser who fills their lonely nights by spinning romantic fantasies drawn from memories of old movies.

7.0

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Milk?

The top films similar to Milk by MovieMagicScore are The Times of Harvey Milk (7.2), 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (7.3), Serpico (7.5). Each shares drama/history themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Milk worth watching?

Milk holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.2/10 from 2,309 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is Milk?

Milk (2008) is a drama, history film directed by Gus Van Sant, starring Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin.

Where can I find more recommendations like Milk?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more drama recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like The Times of Harvey Milk Movies like 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi Movies like Serpico Movies like Prayers for Bobby Movies like Confessions of a Congressman Movies like What's Love Got to Do with It

About movies like Milk

This ranked list pairs Milk (2008), a drama and history film from Gus Van Sant, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Sean Penn take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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