Milk

This movie will both entertain and make you feel uncomfortable regardless of how you feel about the subtext. This is not a movie promoting any particular lifestyle. It is about a fight for human rights in a turbulent time of our nation's history, California's history, and in particular San Francisco. This movie is about political and personal struggle.

First let me congratulate Dustin Lance Black who wrote a very smart screen play and won an Oscar and 8 other awards for it worthily. This is an excellent example of how to tell a compelling story when everyone already knows all the details from beginning to end.

Then, I want to commend director Gus Van Sant for making a picture with old footage blended with new footage and threaded together so well we sometimes can't tell the difference. To say the least, he does quirky but powerful movies. If you have seen his work, you will remember the movie for years.

Finally we should acknowledge the genius of Sean Penn. He has come a long way since his humble beginnings in Little House on the Prairie. He chooses iconic roles from Spicoli in Fast Times to this current masterpiece. I look forward to seeing him a Larry in The Three Stooges soon.

As a native San Franciscan I appreciated this movie even more. But, you don't need to be from there, or gay, or political, to enjoy it. You just need to empathise with the human struggle.

Watch this movie with an open mind.