Eye opening and heart breaking regardless of age or sexual preference

Rating: 10/10 (27 December 2008)

Born and raised in a southern, catholic community, I saw that homosexuals were always grouped with prostitutes and rapists in our religion books. Something didn't quite sit right with me when I saw this ever since I was very young. The anti gay feelings abound in a small southern city, and, although I myself am straight, I was always in the minority of gay right supporters.
Van Sant's Milk could not have come at a better time in my life. This movie is a transcendent bio pic, and an inspiration to me now and forever. In my theater, a packed crowd with an average age of about 60 gathered. (I found this interesting, why so many seniors? Was it guilt?) The film exceeds both as a touching biography and a bold social statement. Van Sant really does what Alfred Hitchcock so famously did, and "played the audience like a piano". We laughed, we thought, and came out of the theater a little bit more in tune with reality. I was the youngest in the theater by about 40 years, so I saw from an outside looking in at what this film really did.
So much has been said about how well made the film is that anything else would be redundant, but the praise is well deserved. Penn should be a top runner for Best Actor, as he completely disappears into his character. Another actor that was an absolute thrill to watch in this movie was Emile Hirsch, who was fantastic.
So emotionally wrenching, it will stand the test of time. It is so powerful because everyone knows someone that's gay and someone that's a bigot. The best movie of the year I've seen.