James Franco as Scott Smith

Surrounding and aiding Harvey in his fight are dozens of other men, nearly all of them gay. As Milk’s longtime love Scott Smith, James Franco offers an openness and emotional honestly that we’ve never seen from the actor before, which is essential as Smith is the real heart of the film. He’s the man who ignites the spark of hope in Harvey, and he’s clearly his lifetime love, even though they were separated when Harvey was killed.

If Scott Smith is the heart, Emile Hirsch’s Cleve Jones is the film’s hot blood, and we see his evolution from a sassy part-time rentboy to one of the most vigilant gay rights warriors in our history. A bold contrast to Smith’s gentility, Hirsch’s Jones is a flame that just needs fanning, and soon after he and Harvey meet he’s a full-on activist wildfire.

The other various limbs of the movement are brought to life by Alison Pill (as Ann Kronenberg, one of the few women in the entire film), High School Musical’s Lucas Grabeel, and Running With Scissors’ Joseph Cross, among other fresh faces.

Emile Hirsch as Cleve Jones

As Milk’s colleague and eventual murderer Dan White, Josh Brolin is also excellent, deftly walking the line between curiosity and abject disgust in his dealings with Milk, who is the only other supervisor who will give him the time of day despite the fact that White openly dislikes gay men. Although Milk mentions at one point that he thinks that White might himself be gay and deeply closeted, the film thankfully doesn’t run with the idea, leaving White’s actions somewhat of a mystery, which is indeed what they remain to this day (White committed suicide in the 80s).

The focus of the film is instead on Harvey’s political career, and the issues that formed the basis of his campaign. It’s hard to not see the similarities between Proposition 6 (a ballot measure that sought to remove all openly gay teachers — and their supporters — from California public schools) and the ongoing Proposition 8 fight, and the film might have the unintended effect of coalescing a gay rights movement that has lacked focus since the outbreak of AIDS.

Josh Brolin as Dan White

In recapturing the era, Van Sant makes clever use of ample historical footage of both the Castro neighborhood that Milk called home (which is at times blended in so seamlessly with the modern-day recreations that it’s impossible to tell the difference) and news footage of many of Milk’s political foes, most notably Anita Bryant, whose conservative Christian movement pushed to get Proposition 6 passed in California after first finding success in Florida.

If you happen to see the film in a gay neighborhood, be prepared to duck flying popcorn when Bryant appears onscreen.