Penn, Black and Van Sant Deliver the Goods...

Rating: 8/10 (11 December 2009)

Sean Penn's mesmerizing Oscar winning performance is the centerpiece of MILK, the 2008 biopic about Harvey Milk, the tireless crusader of gay rights who became the first openly gay male to run for public office. Director Gus van Sant has mounted this intimate story on a massive canvas, utilizing stock news footage, gay activism education/information, and an intelligent, Oscar winning screening play by Dustin Lance Black to tell this compelling and emotionally charged tale of the man who put his entire life on the back burner as well as at a great personal risk to himself, to further the issue of gay rights. It would nice if homophobia could be put aside long enough for the heterosexual population to see a film like this and possibly gain a better understanding of this constantly tortured minority. Sean Penn won a richly deserved 2nd Best Actor Oscar for his passionate and fiery turn as this tireless Messiah for gay causes. The film also features a trio of sterling supporting performances from Emile Hirsch as a teen hustler that Milk converts into one of his followers, James Franco as Milk's lover who gets lost in Harvey's political shuffle, and especially Josh Brolin, in a brilliant performance that earned him a supporting nomination as Dan White, the conflicted, heterosexual San Francisco supervisor who worked alongside and against Milk simultaneously, leading to the downfall of both of them. A beautifully mounted film with a strong message that never becomes preachy, but stays with you long after the credits roll, featuring the performance of Sean Penn's distinguished career. Don't miss this one.