Never in my life, have I seen the film that had the ability to make me feel so attached to the story, the characters, and the movie, as much as Milk did. Gus Van Sant is a director who knows how to mix moving emotion, with humor, and a strong dramatic feel. The screenplay for this movie, by Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black, is fantastic, beautifully portraying the last eight years of Harvey Milk's life. The costumes and art direction are amazingly periodic. The cinematography is perfect, giving the film its own unique and beautiful look. The score by Danny Elfman, is one of the many things that drives the film to its emotional feel, hardly in a film, is a score so well fitting and memorable as it is in Milk. The scenes are extremely well edited, and commonly in the film, the editor makes the very smart decision of mixing archival footage of the time period in which the movie takes place, to new footage of the terrific set designs. The craft of this film is flawless, and yet Van Sant not only focuses on the technical aspects of the film, he focuses on the way the story is told, and how it delivers its self. The title character, Harvey Milk, is played by Sean Penn, who not only gives one of the greatest lead performances of all time, he actually absorbs this character into his own flesh and blood. In fact, each and every performance in this film is outstanding. Josh Brolin plays Dan White as a confused, angry, man, but he plays this character with a sense of emotion, which in fact is very sadening to watch. James Franco gives the best performance of his career so far as Scott Smith, one of Harvey's lovers. Franco takes his acting to a next level, never letting anyone steal his scenes. Emile Hersch is also very good as Cleve Jones. But this film isn't really about politics, or homo sexuality, or San Francisco, its about love, love shared between everyone, and how love can make you achieve anything. It's a film that can make you laugh, cry, and cheer. Milk is a masterpiece, and an unforgettable experience. And it should be shown to any young film maker, so that they will be inspired, and they will know if they truly are in love with film, then they will make the best movie possible.

Just see this movie, you'll love it, it's one of the greatest movies ever made! No joke!

☆☆☆☆☆ out of ☆☆☆☆☆