Milk joins some of the other best films of the past year as effectively focusing around one lead performance and a stand-out directorial style. Although it may not be as directly gut-wrenching or funny as Gran Torino or The Wrestler, it takes a fair and captivating approach to a real-life figure that finds a solid balance between documenting history and remaining entertaining. After director Gus Van Sant's previous experience of putting intelligent representations of tragic stories from Kurt Cobain to the Columbine shootings on screen, he was unquestionably the man for the job. Sean Penn, apart from being a talented actor legendary for his gay rights activism, was going to be a tougher sell for me and likely many others.
Thankfully, Penn gives probably his best, and certainly his most original performance yet and carries a film that needs his caliber of acting to remain exciting....
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