Other than deciding who the next President would be, the most prominent issue facing voters in the November election was gay marriage. Three states all voted to amend their constitutions to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman. In California, the issue was especially high-profile, as the fight on this battleground grabbed national headlines.

It’s not the first time the Golden State has encountered the subject. It is the home of Hollywood, where many celebrities have spoken out on the subject. It was the first state to approve same-sex civil unions granting couples most of the rights afforded to married couples. And it elected Harvey Milk as the first openly gay man to hold public office. His story is chronicled in director Gus Van Sant’s Milk.

The story begins with Milk (Sean Penn) preparing a taped will. He recounts his story, which begins in 1970; he’s a battered-down insurance salesman in New York. After meeting Scott Smith (James Franco), Milk celebrates his 40th birthday and feels empty.

Not only has he contributed little to society, but he’s disgusted with the lack of progress homosexuals are making in mainstream society. To rectify this, Milk and Smith move to San Francisco’s Castro district, an unofficial gay hub of the city. But despite a more prevalent gay presence, the hatred is as strong as ever. Milk decides to run for public office, hoping to shine a humanistic light on a hated people. His immersion into politics drives Scott away, but Milk is finally elected as a district supervisor.

Unsurprisingly, Milk faces heated opposition to counteract his fervent supporters. But one man whose motives are vague is fellow supervisor Dan White (Josh Brolin). White, a soft-spoken fellow, is very much a traditionalist, believing in family values and convinced that homosexuality is a threat to that wholesomeness. Nonetheless, he’s willing to cooperate politically with Milk, offering support for his causes if Milk likewise does the same. But when Milk refuses to support White, he helps turn White into a bitter ally.

With the passage of marriage-definition amendments dominating the headlines, Milk’s message of tolerance becomes more significant. One wonders if, were it released prior to November 4, the vote would have turned out differently. Focus Features, which distributed the film, made a conscious effort to delay the release until the political season came to an end. This is one of those instances where you wish you could relive two histories; to see how history could have changed were the film released just one month earlier.

The main reason there might indeed be a difference is that Milk is very effective in telling its story. Harvey Milk always started his speeches by saying he was “here to recruit you”, but the film isn’t manipulative in portraying the homosexual perspective. This is the type of movie I would expect to contain overwrought acting, overemotional music and an underlying sense of Oscar posturing. Instead, Van Sant focuses on the raw emotion of the plight, and sculpts the film with a restrained yet moving mold.

Van Sant also peppers the story with news broadcasts from the time period. Most of these highlight either persistent anti-gay activist singer Anita Bryant or broadcasts from Walter Cronkite chronicling the development of the homosexual issue on the national stage. This authentic footage puts the story into context, filling in the holes on the landscape of 1970s attitude toward homosexuals.

As the title character, Sean Penn turns in another stellar performance. His giddy, passionate portrayal is infectious but not cloying. And while this is the type of role that seems factory-made for an Oscar nomination, Penn’s nod would be well-deserved. While most of the supporting cast is strong (including Emile Hirsch as a fired-up campaigner) the most nuanced performance belongs to Josh Brolin. Dan White is a tougher part than Milk. He’s hesitant to accept homosexuality, but isn’t vehemently hateful either. Yet his attitudes and his relationship with Milk evolve subtly, and Brolin does a wonderful job of showing this inner turmoil.

We’ll never know how much political muscle Milk would have yield had it come out earlier. Instead, we can simply view the film on its own merits, and the film is strong enough to stand on its own. It’s probably not going to convert anyone, but Milk is a shining tribute not only to an influential public figure, but to the homosexual cause as well.