MILK

Sean Penn stars in this true story of the first openly gay man to be elected into office in the US, Harvey Milk. Set in San Francisco in the 70's, Milk was one of the first activists to stand up for gay rights. He quickly realizes his cause will fall on deaf ears unless he rounds out his campaign with other issues. His attempts to get into office fail numerous times. But because of his tireless drive and tenacity, he attracts a passionate campaign staff to help him accomplish his goal.

No one can deny the pure, golden talent Sean Penn is. Early in his career he didn't want to be typecast. He began in "Taps" with Tom Cruise, then went to his pivotal role in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" as surfer dude, Jeff Spicoli. Ranging from other films as "Colors" then jumping ahead to "The Thin Red Line", "Dead Man Walking", "I Am Sam", "Mystic River", and "21 Grams". His filmography is vast, but those are my favorites in his journey. Up for many awards for his performance in "Milk",  he deserves all the accolades he receives. He not only became this character, but certainly embodied what it was to be Harvey Milk. His hardships, his loves and his triumphs. In a time when it was not acceptable to be openly gay, Harvey never backed down from what he truly was. Upon hearing that a teacher was fired for being gay, Milk encourages the entire country to come out to their friends, family and employers.  That's a pretty impressive feat, considering there was no internet, cell phones or even fax machines. This was one of many injustices he tackled in his fight for equal rights for all. 

Filling out the cast are Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsh, James Franco, and Diego Luna. All of which were excellent casting choices. Intimate scenes involving James and Sean were innocent and sweet. Showing these are true actors in that they aren't afraid of ending up in the tabloids to be labeled as gay. I applaud the effort to tell the story in a factual and believable way.

In a nutshell, I highly recommend the picture. It's important to learn the struggle the gay community has had throughout the years and how far they've actually come. Some would argue that's not very far, but that's another blog entirely.

RATING:  B-