Milk (2008) ****1/2

Milk opens with the title character Harvey Milk (Sean Penn) giving his final manifesto into a tape recorder. Milk is an activist for the San Francisco gay community and the first openly gay elected official in a major American city. The film revolves around his arrival in San Francisco to being the first gay man that could be compared to Boss Tweed in New York or Mayor Dayley in Chicago. It's an uphill battle, as can be expected.

Gus Van Sant goes a long way to redemption for that horrible mistake known as Psycho with this film. He presents Milk in a documentary style, intercutting between the actors and the real news events. There is a massive attention to detail in this film. Don't believe me? Watch the closing credits.Van Sant isn't sympathetic to Milk all of the time in this picture, though. There are certain parts that almost show Milk as a power hungry politician more than the community activist fresh of the train from New York City.

Sean Penn is magnificent as Harvey Milk. Penn is continuing to prove that he has the qualities of this generations Marlon Brando, a talent that can go from winning an Oscar for playing a hardened Boston crime lord (Mystic River) to playing a gay activist in this film. While watching Milk I tried to harken back to that role in Mystic River and couldn't. Sean Penn becomes his roles and wears them like a comfortable coat. He continues to be one of the premiere actors of the last 10+ years.

The rest of the cast is as magnificent as Penn. James Franco plays Milk's lover Scott who would follow Milk to the ends of the Earth until it proves too much. Emile Hirsch trashes his Spped racer garb and relishes in the role of "trick" turned activist Cleve Jones. A great turn for Hirsch. Alison Pill is also great as Anne Kroenenberg, the savvy campaign manager that becomes the glue that holds the entire thing together. And once again Josh Brolin delivers another stellar performance as Dan White, a fellow city supervisor that believes his career is going down the tubes because of Harvey Milk.

The film represents an era in American history that rivals the massive civil rights demonstrations a decade before. To see what these people were going through in what has been considered the most liberal city in America makes a person cringe. This is America for Christ's sakes. You have legislation being past to eliminate job protections for gay people, and the infamous move to have all gay school teachers and their supporters fired. What the hell was up with this country? And everyone thought that Harvey and his crew were the freaks, these people pushing for these reforms were pissing on the American flag while hanging a swastika. What Milk does is represent that era when we were still a little touchy on the entire homosexual issue. It's another one of those stories about hope and how perseverance can get you to your goals, even if you do have to give up a little bit of your soul in the process.