Milk (2008)

Gus Van Sant delivers a biopic about Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in America.

The film traces Milk's humble beginnings in politics as a photography store owner in San Francisco. As the gay community congregated in one district, they became easier targets for brutality. Milk responded with rallying the neighbourhood and running several times for a seat as city supervisor. As a side story, the relationship between Milk and another city supervisor who eventually becomes his assassin is developed.

Aside from Sean Penn's stirring performance as the flamboyant politician, the film really does amazing work capturing an era with costume and set design. It also explains the very different state of civil liberties in the country during the 1970's. Without this character's passion for helping Americans understand the plight of homosexuals, we would likely have witnessed more violence and prejudice than we still see today against gays and lesbians.

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