What We're Watching: Laurie

Milk directed by Gus Van Sant. Starring Sean Penn, James Franco, Emile Hirsch and Josh Brolin.

Harvey Milk (Penn) was a gay rights activist who was determined to fight to make significant changes to his small world in the Castro neighborhood in San Francisco. Milk believed that every person had the right to work, live and love in harmony with his fellow man regardless of sexual orientation. He fought hard against discrimination in his local neighborhood and his friends recognized that he had potential to make his voice heard on a state level. Milk ran for local office three times and was elected to San Francisco's Board of Supervisors in 1977. Harvey's courage and tenacity paid off as he became the first openly gay man elected to public office in the United States. Milk's fight really began when he led people across the nation to vote down Proposition 6, which denied equal rights to gay citizens. One year after his election, he and George Moscone, the mayor of San Francisco, were assassinated by Dan White (Brolin), the former city supervisor. White claimed that the mayor and Milk were trying to block his attempt to rescind his resignation from the board. This film is full of outstanding performances and tells the story of courage, friendship and how one man's determination and belief for what is right and just can change the world.