Good Milk!

Rating: 8/10 (5 December 2008)

Got Milk? Unfortunately, we don't got milk anymore in the form of 70's San Francisco gay rights leader/elected official Supervisor Harvey Milk. He was assassinated along with then San Francisco Mayor George Moscone in 1978 by a former S.F. Supervisor Dan White. Director Gus Van Sant's "Milk" biographical diary film product turns out to be one of the emotional cinematic rousers of the year. Sean Penn milked it through with his performance as Harvey Milk; it is another "Pennmanship" acting showstopper which should garner him a Best Actor Academy Award nomination. Josh Brolin goes from effectively playing a Bushman (Anti-Gay) White in "W." as President Bush to effectively playing another Bushman (Anti-Gay) White as Dan White. Brolin continues to broil it up with his recent paramount acting performances. Oh Josh! This might be your Oscar year! James Franco gives a frank and tender performance as Milk's longtime lover and campaign manager Scott Smith, and Emile Hirsh is the Emile acting ticket again by charismatically portraying an "into the wild" Milk campaign apprentice called Cleve Jones. Openly gay Director Gus Van Sant constructively marches to the beat of his own drum by helming a profoundly inspirational narrative of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay person ever elected to political office. Milk's mission was not just about gay rights but about civil rights. So I think the Academy should be civil enough to consider Van Sant as a Best Director Oscar nominee. Van Sant's stock package of actual footage from the Milk era was an imperative ingredient to his "Milk". Dustin Lance Black's rookie screenplay of "Milk" was a verbal juggernaut achievement in civil rights literacy. The "Milk Chronicles" travel from Harvey's New York underachieving life to his resilient triumph to political candidacy in San Francisco to his tragic assassination in City Hall by White, and every Milk life drop in between. My only sour milk taste for "Milk" was the just one too many "rah rah" rally scenes. Nevertheless, "Milk" was up to par within my cinematic taste. It is time for you to be "Under the Milky Way" tonight and cinematically drink up a viewing of "Milk". **** Good