Milk (2008, 94%)

Critics Consensus: Anchored by Sean Penn’s powerhouse performance, Milk is a triumphant account of America’s first openly gay man elected to public office.

It’s true that Harvey Milk — portrayed in Gus Van Sant’s film by an Oscar-winning Sean Penn — was the first openly gay politician elected to public office in California, and that’s a milestone in and of itself. But more importantly, Milk’s political work and his tragic subsequent assassination led to a shift in public sentiment and sowed the seeds for pro-LGBT acceptance on a wider scale.