MILK *****

Most movies based on historic events are irrelevant to our daily lives today; effecting our emotions for the couple hours we sit in the theater and then talk about it during the drive home. The next day we wake up, forgetting the premise of the movie but knowing it was good. Milk is not one of those movies. It's a scary reality that hasn't changed much since 1977.

Harvey Milk(Sean Penn) moves to San Fransisco to hopefully accomplish something before he turns 50. His boyfriend Scott(James Franco) decides to take the journey with him.

Harvery opens a camera shop, which turns out to be more of a campaign headquarters during Harvey's run for office. The camera shop is located on Castro street, a working-class neighborhood with little acceptance of the "gays" arrival. Harvey takes it upon him self to make a change, stand up for what he believes. He decides to run for county supervisor.
A move that changes his relationship with Scott as the campaign continues after Harvey doesn't win the first or second time.

Many people in the gay community come out to support Harvey. Clive Jones(Emile Hirsch) is a young boy who becomes involved in Milk's historic run for office. When Harvey is finally elected into office as District 5 Supervisor he begins to clash heads with another newly elected official, Dan White(Josh Brolin). Harvey's continuing struggle to work with Dan over political difference's and the relationship he shares with his new boyfriend, lead to a untimely ending for a man with a dream still vibrant today.

Sean Penn is again, as aways phenomenal as Harvey Milk. The way Penn has the tendency to capture the beauty of a human being is award worthy in every which way. His connection and sincerity with on-screen love James Franco is similar to the way Heath Ledger united with Jake Gyllenhaal in Brokeback Mountain. Josh Brolin and Emile Hirsch add to an ensamble cast that is both moving and memorable.

When you watch the struggles that Milk faced in trying to successfully defeat Proposition 6, it can't help but make you wonder about the passing of California's recent Proposition 8. How was Milk and the state of California able to defeat a law that would ban schools from hiring teachers who were gay or lesbian, but 30 years later can't pass a law that would allow civil unions and same-sex benefits?

Milk will hit the heart strings of many differently then others. The universal message of fighting for acceptance and the long road that still lies ahead for equality is powerful no matter if your gay or straight. One man choose to stand up to society, creating a following of thousands of people who still fight for what he believed in today. Harvey Millk did something before he turned 50 and unfortunately didn't live long enough to see the impact he made.

STILL IN THEATERS