Milk [Movie Review]

For many, the new Harvey Milk biopic has been a long time coming. As the first openly gay politician ever elected to major office in the United States, and the victim of an untimely assassination, Milk's life story is both inspiring and tragic.

Sean Penn doesn't just bare an eerie physical resemblance to the civil rights figure, but becomes him in every sense of the word. The transformation is incredible. But Penn offers up only one of the stellar performances in the film.

Josh Brolin plays Dan White, Milk's killer, with surprising empathy, and James Franco and Diego Luna do their real life counterparts immeasurable justice. But it is Emile Hirsch who really stands out as the best performance in the supporting cast. His portrayal of Cleve Jones is so entertaining, he comes close to outshining nearly anyone sharing a scene with him, except Penn himself.

Visionary Director Gus Van Sant was the right man for this job. The cinematography is breathtaking. The music is a perfect fit. And Van Sant's technique of blending archival footage with his own shots is so seamless it is often hard to tell if you are looking at the actors or historical figures.

I'd be hard-pressed to imagine an Oscar nomination lineup that didn't include nods for Milk in atelast the Best Ensemble Cast, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor categories.

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