#1 - Milk

Directed by Gus Van Sant
3.5 stars
::spoiler alert::

Why did I not know this story already? Oh … that’s right. Because there isn’t a “LGBT History Month” in the United States. Seriously, though, why sometimes do we need Hollywood to feed us our history lessons?

I was enraptured with the film from start to finish. Listen, you don’t need me to tell you how incredible Sean Penn is as an actor. If you disagree, it’s just for show because you disagree with his politics; you know you secretly admire the man who went from Spicoli to Sam. He’s solid - any time you see “Sean Penn” is attached to a movie, you immediately know it’s of a certain calibre.

Anyways … the story of the rise of Harvey Milk, the unlikely hero of the Gay Rights Movement is amazingly (& sadly) still timely. With the passage of Proposition 8 in California, the very state where Mr. Milk began the last great adventure of his life, to connect-the-dots between the struggles of then & the battles of now was eye-opening, to say the least. & yet Mr. Van Sant & his incredible cast paint a portrait of love & laughter in what could easily have been a very shadowed, grim finger-pointing.

Harvey Milk was, by all accounts, not a superstar or a demagogue. He was an everyday man who loved largely, had his flaws, & basically exemplifies what community activism was & still is. Mr. Penn brings this humanity to him the very second we see him. He’s not a caricature of a gay man, he’s not Sean Penn in a role —- he is Harvey Milk & you can’t help but be drawn into his world.

The aforementioned cast was truly exceptional. Emile Hirsch, in all his fidgety self-consciousness, earned much respect (especially after the disaster that was Speed Racer). James Franco showed a level of sensitivity from which most male actors shy far, far away. Josh Brolin - light-years from The Goonies - gave what could have been a lopsided “bad guy” role depth & compassion. I certainly am not going to join a Dan White Fan Club any time soon (or eat too many Twinkies, for that matter), but I’m also not going to demonize his name, either.

So go on … get your history lesson on.