What goes around, comes around. The wheel never stops turning. No matter the euphemism you might like to use, it’s interesting that we would get this movie, this year, in the wake of Proposition 8. This, where in the voters of California played “Indian Giver” in revoking the right of Gay people to marry in what is general thought of as the most Liberal state in the Union. Implied subtly in the framework of the bio-pic about Gay rights activist and San Francisco politician Harvey Milk is that all this has happened before and it can happen again. But rather make that ‘has’ happened again.

Gus Van Sant returns to mainstream filmmaking in a potent and powerful way with Milk, a story and a life that’s very inspiring and very human – the struggle to secure one’s rights in the face overwhelming opposition. In the 1970s it was Proposition 6, a law that would make it illegal for anyone even suspected of being gay or lesbian from teaching in a California public school. Milk was the linchpin, from his position as a City Supervisor he was a powerful and passionate voice against Prop 6, even venturing to debate Prop 6’s major proponent, Sen. John Briggs, in Conservative strongholds like Orange County.

Sean Penn plays Milk without an ounce of self-consciousness. He truly fills himself with the spirit of Harvey Milk with all his personal conflicts, high-minded ambitions and occasional disappointments when political realities got in the way. Following Milk from his move to San Francisco with his boyfriend Scott (James Franco), where they open a camera shop on Castro St., the story is told in flashback by Milk just before his assassination in 1978. It chronicles his role in making the Castro St. neighbourhood a gay friendly boulevard and his numerous runs for elected office before being successfully elected as City Supervisor in 1977.

Even just as a set of accomplishments in and of themselves, Milk’s story is impressive, being the first openly gay man elected to public office it would have to be. But what’s more impressive is the man himself. Van Sant doesn’t present Milk as a trailblazer out purely to make a statement, but rather shows him as he was: a politically savvy community organizer that excelled at building relationships and capitalizing on good will. Now Penn has a somewhat, let’s say, prickly reputation. His Milk though is affable, outgoing and committed to a vision of being able to live out and proud.

On one hand, Milk offers a bright, shiny example of the power of the people to organize and inspire. But there is a cloud hanging over the story in the shape of the eventual historical events, meaning the shooting death of Milk by fellow supervisor Dan White (played in the film with chilling humility by Josh Brolin). Van Sant uses prodigious editing to subtly drag you back down to Earth because you know that the scenes of Milk sitting alone with a tape recorder is a type of elegy. But there’s something strange mixed in the emotion seeing this; its not quite sadness, but there is a bittersweet kind of taste in watching Milk’s story through this prism.

Like Brokeback Mountain, Milk excels at creating a compelling narrative because it’s not a plebiscite, but is, instead, all too human. Sometimes Hollywood uses homosexuality as a stunt so much, i.e.: the gay, best friend, that it seems like they forget that there are real people out there struggling understand themselves, let alone their place in society. What makes Harvey Milk’s story compelling is that thematically it could be anyone’s struggle for acceptance and equality not matter where on the numerous dividing lines of society they fall.

But beyond that, Milk was just a truly genuine person; a good man with a good soul – an accidental activist. You really get to know, and understand, and appreciate this person; you sympathize with their struggles and you celebrate with their triumphs, and that’s the greatest gift that a movie like this can give. Penn is practically perfect playing Milk and he leads a great cast which includes a laid back Franco, a tightly wound Brolin and Emile Hirsch getting back some of that indie cred from Speed Racer by passionately playing Cleve, another accidental activist that hitches his wagon to Milk.

Van Sant has constructed a very powerful movie about the power of one man’s influence that very subtly creates advocacy through example. As to whether or not releasing this before the vote on Prop 8 would have affected the outcome, I’m not sure, but if anything could, this is it. Milk revels in the improbable co-existence of tragedy and triumph, and I defy anyone to walk away not feeling one and the other in equal measure. This is some of Penn’s finest work and that’s really saying something. His charisma is powerful to say the least, and the script and story is more than a match for his skill. Put simply: Milk is a great film, whether it changes minds on hot-button political topics or not.