"I'm not a candidate; I'm part of a movement."

That line is probably the most important in Milk, not just because it defines the drive and passion of Harvey Milk but also because it tells us what the movie is about. While Milk is a very interesting look at the rise of Milk and the gay rights movement, it seems more about the latter than the former. The movie starts by focusing on Harvey's life and struggles but that is all quickly overwhelmed by the politics and the movement. 

In the end, we're really left with no real portrait of Harvey the man. We are shown his biggest battles but his private life remains a mystery. His struggles with his lover Jack aren't really fleshed out (no pun intended) and we just see Diego Luna's character as a boy toy/headcase. We have love scenes but little love itself. Men are picked up easily and the only emotion comes when they're leaving. And I have to admit, part of me was intrigued most by Josh Brolin's Dan White, a man who was fighting a losing battle that he may not have believed in but believed he needed to fight. 

The most confusing part, however, was why this film wasn't released before the election. No, I don't think it would have changed the outcome of Prop 8 but the studio lost a ton of free publicity by not throwing themselves into the political maelstrom. Perhaps they feared that some people might have pulled away from the film, not wanting anything to do with Hollywood's political posturing but I doubt those people were going  to see the film no matter when it was released. 

All that being said, it's a very strong movie with some incredible acting. Sean Penn has to be a frontrunner for the Best Actor Oscar. I thought it dragged a bit in the middle but it's still one of the year's best and gets a SoulHonky recommendation, whatever that is worth.