Milk

Milk is a bit outside the normal range of films that I tend to gravitate towards but its subject matter, strong casting and it's best picture nomination of 2008 was enough to make me give it a shot. Despite being a film from two years ago its still quite relevant, with the Proposition 8 battle that's very reminiscent of Proposition 6 in the film. We still aren't where we should be with gay rights, but thanks to the work of people like Harvey Milk, it's only a matter of time.The movie tells the story of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected to "major public office". This isn't a biopic about his whole life so much as just the important part, the decade in which he began to make a difference in his community.

The film mixes scenes with the actors and real footage from the time effectively, grounding it in the period. It took me some time to get into it, but I ended up being riveted by the performances and the story. Sean Penn is pretty brilliant as the titular character, Franco and Hirsch were both good, and Josh Brolin seemed perfect in the role. I'm not sure where he came from but he's got a nice career going. The climactic scene is completely brilliant. The film makes no secret of the fact that Harvey and the Mayor are both assassinated, but the way it all comes together is about as well as you can do it in cinema. Every single shot has a purpose, and the sense of dread as you realize what is happening is palpable. The whole movie makes really good use of reflections at times of importance, and you can tell when something's going down just from how it's filmed. As both a film and political message, Gus Van Sant created a real triumph.