It milks the right responses

Possibly the best watch this week, Milk tells of the perseverance of California's first openly gay man to be elected into public office

What's it about:
Possibly the best watch this week, Milk tells of the perseverance of California's first openly gay man to be elected into public office: Harvey Milk. The tale is told, beginning at Milk's 40th birthday in 1970 and ending with his assassination in 1979.

The biopic shows Milk (Penn) escaping New York with lover Scott Smith (Franco) to the relative safety of the more accepting city of San Francisco. Once there, he moves into the Castro neighbourhood and sets up a camera shop which would later become a haven for visiting gay men.

Over time, seeing the persecution he (in particular) and the gay community (in general) faced, Milk turns to political activism. When he sees that nobody would support them without some push, Milk then decides to stand for public office. After three failed attempts between which, long-time lover Scott leaves him Milk persists. And eventually gets elected as a city supervisor. Milk's activism while centralised in San Frisco, spills over to all of California. While Milk enjoys tacit support from city mayor, Moscone (Garber), a disgruntled colleague in fellow supervisor, Dan White (Brolin), eventually shoots him dead.

What's hot:
If I could vote at the Oscars, my vote for Best Actor would go to Sean Penn. The actor gets into the skin of Harvey Milk and lives it beautifully. Penn truly brings Harvey to life, infusing his story with great sincerity. His many admirers won Harvey the election despite great odds. One hopes this will be Penn's year. Also, one thinks it's James Franco and not Josh Brolin who should've got the best supporting actor nomination. It's easy enough to see why. This is the young actor's best performance ever. Emile Hirsch and Diego Luna deserve a mention for doing their parts very well. Gus Van Sant directs a love story that's so much more; one that tells you that gay people are no more different than you and me and that they have way too many rights denied to them because they accept who they are. The film's best line comes at the end: Harvey's soliloquy on hope.

What's not:
Josh Brolin probably did justice to his character, but when his part is viewed with the film as a whole, he's seriously found wanting.

What to do:
Watch the film. This one comes highly recommended.

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Dir: Gus Van Sant
Cast: Sean Penn, James Franco, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch