Milk review

It's been quite a few days since I've seen Milk, but I wasn't sure I had anything new to say except to expose my own ignorance about events that preceded my birth. First, I loved the movie. It's a great biographical history of Harvey Milk, as well as some of the first major events of the gay rights movement (pre-AIDS, which was interesting historically, certain arguments weren't used or brought out that prevailed after AIDS became prevalent). Sean Penn was wonderful. From the trailers I expected him to be playing a character very similar to his in I Am Sam, but the trailers do him a disservice. He's much more up and down in energy, politics, and relationships than the snapshot shown quickly in trailers. The supporting cast is also pretty amazing (though I don't think Josh Brolin deserved his nomination this year - perhaps it's a make-up for last year). Given how the move through Milk's life in different ways and we barely hear their names, it was remarkably easy to keep track because they just made an impression. Emile Hirsh, James Franco, Diego Luna, and Alison Pill (the oldest daughter in Dan in Real Life which I just saw again) were all good, individual characters that helped Harvey fight for what was right. I had a lot of trouble watching all the hate that they battled for equal rights, and can't really believe we're still fighting some of the same battles, but at least the people fighting today have a little more info on how far they have come. 5 LAMBS/stars