"My name is Harvey Milk and I'm here to recruit you." I have long bristled at the suggestion that film has the power to change minds or effect the world of human rights. Art is art, and we shouldn't put too much pressure on filmmakers to be world-changers. But Gus Van Sant's absolutely brilliant Milk has made me rethink that idea. Harvey Milk, a crucial leader of the gay rights movement in the '70s, told people that it wasn't just okay to be who they were, if it meant staying closeted and quiet, but rather that pushing for equal rights for all people regardless of sexual orientation was absolutely essential to the evolution of humanity. But Harvey Milk would never want to be considered a martyr. As he says more than once in the film, it was all about the movement. And Milk is not a deification of a man as much as it is a crucial step forward in the gay rights movement. It's not ridiculous at all to think that a suicidal teenager afraid to come out or a prejudice-filled parent who has shunned their child that needs him will see Milk and reconsider their worldview. This film has that kind of power. And it does so not just because of its important and prescient subject matter but because you haven't seen a film this well written, directed, or acted in a very long time. Milk is a masterpiece.

The best non-Pixar, non-superhero movie of the year stars Sean Penn as the title character, a city supervisor in San Francisco who was gunned down after only a short time in office. Harvey Milk changed the lives of millions by being an outspoken, unafraid champion of human rights in a time when gay people were being beaten and arrested just because of who they loved. Dustin Lance Black's amazing screenplay (it should and probably will win the original screenplay Oscar) focuses on the gay rights movement in the last eight years of Milk's life. But Milk's message was always that gay people have the same loves and lives as straight ones, so Black perfectly bookends his piece with a love story.

We meet Harvey in 1970 in New York on his 40th birthday when he falls in love with Scott Smith (James Franco). The two move to San Francisco's Castro District, the center of the gay community in the '70s, where Harvey and Scottie soon realize the power of community to change humanity. With their friends, they boycott stores that display homophobia and even get in line with the teamsters. Soon, Harvey makes the logical move from community leader on a soapbox to actual candidate for office. Year after year, Harvey and his team, including the driven Cleve Jones (Emile Hirsch) and lesbian Anne Kronenberg (Allison Pill), run for office, until they finally make it to the big chair. That's where Harvey meets the damaged Dan White (Josh Brolin), the man who would, one day, take his life.

From the opening scenes of Milk, I was in love with this movie. Van Sant seamlessly weaves historical footage of San Francisco in the '70s into his recreation of the period, and his direction results in one of the most believable historical biopics ever made. Nothing feels staged or disingenuous in Milk. It all feels real. And that's not only because of Van Sant and his spectacular production team but also because Black's flawless screenplay avoids melodrama or martyrdom by concentrating on the fight and the movement. Some have complained about the two-dimensionality of the supporting characters and they're missing the point. This is literally Milk's story. The structure of the script is constantly flashing back to Harvey sitting in his kitchen reading his life story into a tape recorder. Thus, everyone is seen in the context of Milk's fight. Even his lovers are expressed almost solely in terms of what the battle for gay rights and Harvey's devotion to it did to them.

As perfect as the behind-the-scenes team is on Milk - direction, screenplay, editing, cinematography, design, and Danny Elfman's beautiful score should all be nominated - what most people are going to be drawn to and blown away by is right there in front of the camera. Sean Penn is no stranger to hyperbolic praise but this is possibly his best performance. The most remarkable thing I can say about it is that about halfway through the film, I actually had to remind myself that it was Penn. It's easy for a newcomer, even an actor who has only done a handful of movies, to disappear into a role, but it is very difficult for someone who we have seen for decades to transform into someone else. Every decision that Penn makes is not just the right one, but one that no other actor would have even considered. He's perfect and should clear space on the mantel for a second Oscar. Brolin, Franco, and Hirsch all excel in great supporting roles, particularly Brolin who takes a complex character and makes him believable.

What more can I say about Milk? It's that rare film that's both entertaining and has the power to change people's minds - kind of like the man himself. Harvey never lost sight of the humanity within the movement. There's a powerful scene in Milk where he receives a phone call from a wheelchair-bound young man whose family is threatening to send him to a camp that will "fix him" and he's suicidal. Harvey never forgets that teenager. It may have been all about the movement, but the movement was all about the people. You will never forget Milk.

Rating: FOUR BONES

Reviewed by Brian Tallerico (MovieRetriever.com Film Critic)

Release Date: November 26^th, 2008 (in select cities); December 5^th, 2008 (wide)

Rating: R

Starring: Sean Penn, James Franco, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch, and Allison Pill

Director: Gus Van Sant

Writer: Dustin Lance Black