Milk-AMC Best Pic Showcase

One movie down, five to go. Our day started with “Milk,” one of two B.P. noms I’ve seen already. On second viewing, it’s just as powerful and important as the first time I saw it, if not more so.

Sometimes I go through stages where I like fictional stories, and then I only want to see biopics and documentaries. I’m curious to see if any of the fictional stories (and even “Frost/Nixon”) move me as much as “Milk” does.

I’m not gay, but I have gay friends, and I live in Boystown. I go to a reconciling, accepting church. I don’t understand the intolerance toward homosexuals, and I’m glad that over time that acceptance of gays—at least in my corner of the world—seems to be a reality. It’s interesting then, for me to watch a movie that takes place not that long ago and see how different the world was for a subsection of the population, and I’m glad times have changed for the better.

This movie is amazingly well done. Gus Van Sant does a brilliant job of intertwining historical footage with the film he shot. The casting is wonderful—the supporting cast is brilliant, and it’s amazing how much some of the actors look like their real-life counterparts. Sean Penn shines as Harvey Milk, and Josh Brolin also does a masterful job of playing the troubled assassin Dan White.

We still have four to see, and I’m worried that this understated film will be lost among some of the glitzier movies (OK—“Slumdog Millionaire”). Still, “Milk” really holds up on its own as a fine film.