Milk

Mmm. When I think of milk I imagine a tall frosty chilled glass full of whole milk poured to the brim. Perhaps a little chocolate syrup? Oreo cookies? That's what I'm talking about. Needless to say I was shocked and appalled when I went to see a movie entitled "Milk" and there was nothing frosty or chocolately about it. Thankfully, the film redeemed itself in other ways by frankly being outstanding. No, I mean really good - out of the best picture noms at the Oscars this year I think it was a close second to "Slumdog Millionaire". For me, "Milk" succeeds in all the ways "Frost/Nixon" fails. When telling a story based on an actual historical figure - you have to set up your audience. They need backstory. Director Gus Van Sant and writer Dustin Lance Black clearly understand this. As solid stoytellers they take us on an entire character arc that pays off just when it should and I loved them for it.

Sean Penn is superb and his performance is bolstered by an absolutely brilliant below-the-radar-all-star cast (Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin, Diego Luna, and James Franco). All these gents are leading men...put them all together and it's a no-brainer. They pulled off an incredibly moving and thought-provoking coup. These straight men were believable as gay activists & lovers in a very mainstream Hollywood movie. Honestly, I'm not sure I have seen anything quite like it (and yes, I saw "Brokeback Mountain").

The greatest strength of this story is that it focuses on humanity and the bonds that tie us together. By doing so, we can all relate to Harvey on some level. He's just a guy fighting for what he believes in. He's fighting for his rights as a human, living in America. In some way, that story resonates in all of our histories. It's powerful and artfully crafted. The look was also very beautifully executed. The early scenes in particular get a wonderful photographic treatment as we skip gleefully through stills and historical footage melded with the "present" footage.

Grab some milk duds, your nearest cow, and a hunk of cheese and go see "Milk". It does a body good.