Jonathan Demme, the director, created an incredibly moving, emotional and sensational movie when he directed Philadelphia. This movie won two Oscar awards, one for best actor, which went to Tom Hanks, and one for best original song, which went to Bruce Springsteen, and it could not be more deserving of these awards. The sensitivity and care in the way that this film deals with the huge controversy surrounding `AIDS at this time is truly amazing.
Set in Philadelphia in the 1980s and 90s when the AIDS crisis was at its most severe in America, the film focuses on Andy Beckett, played by Tom Hanks, a promising young lawyer at one of the largest law firms in America. He is hugely successful, being offered a promotion to senior associate by his boss Charles Wheeler, played by Jason Robards. However things start to fall apart when we learn that Andy is a gay man who has contracted AIDS and that he has been fired by his boss because of this. Andy then asks Joe Miller, played by Denzel Washington, to be his lawyer as he wishes to sue Charles for wrongful termination. We see a great character arc represented in Joe as we see him go from an incredibly homophobic man which was sadly quite common at this time, using homophobic slurs, backing away from Andy when he discovers he has AIDS etc, to helping Andy to fight in court and supporting him even outside the court room. The majority of this film is set in a law court as we see the legal battle between Charles and Andy played out in full: Charles continuously lies saying that Andy was not a satisfactory lawyer, that this was the reason he was terminated and that he was unaware that Andy had AIDS. I won’t spoil the rest of the film as I feel like there are points that are better to watch without any prior knowledge but it is definitely worth watching.
I would say that this film is definitely deserving of five stars and I can honestly say that it is one of the best films I have ever seen. The AIDS crisis in the late 20th century was such a prevalent issue and has so much stigma and controversy surrounding it. From 1981 to 1990, 100,777 people died of AIDS in America so it was clearly a very deadly and aggressive virus. This led to lots of fake news surrounding AIDS, such as the popular belief that it was an airborne virus and that it was caused by gay sexual relations. In extreme cases people believed that it was a punishment from God. Thus leading to many people being too scared to be in close contact with people who had contracted AIDS and people using it as an excuse to be increasingly homophobic: as we see in the film in cases such as when the defending lawyer accuses Andy’s infection of AIDS as being his fault as he was having sexual relations with men.
This level of homophobia was sadly not just fictional as ‘Philadelphia’ is largely based on the true story of Geoffrey Bowers, a lawyer who sued his law firm in 1987 for wrongful termination in one of the first AIDS discrimination legal cases. The real life aspect of this movie adds a far more heart-wrenching feeling from start to finish and the level of not just homophobia but also of suffering that the AIDS patients endured does make it hard to watch. However, although harrowing and deeply emotional, I think that this is truly an excellent film not just because of its amazing script, acting and cinematography, but also because of the fact that it is reflective of the attitudes of many people at the time of the AIDS crisis. This makes it an important movie to watch and it is one that I would definitely recommend.
Film Analyser 
Great choice film analyser this is one of my all time favourites. Such a thought provoking movie. So important to remember!
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I really enjoyed this review!!
I think it’s so important that you are, successfully, introducing your audience to such a wide range of films. This review was particularly striking as you didn’t dance around the harder aspects of this film; you have educated us on the topic of AIDS and, through the review, shown us the harsh realities that can come with it.
Reviews like these- that talk about harder topics- open up conversations and exert positive changes in HIV stigma and knowledge.
Well done Emily!!
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I’d also forgotten how great this film was, I will have to watch it again!. As you said it is an important part of history – many people will not know about the kind of discrimination that happened then compared to the present day.
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Great review Emily, I’d forgotten how good this film was and how tragic a time that was for so many people.
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Great review. You’ve just reminded me how much this movie affected me when I watched it. A lot of it is tough viewing but it’s so worthwhile. The acting is superb. Your review captures this perfectly.
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I too love this film, insightful and thought provoking writing . I also like how you have documented the shocking statistics about AIDS. Great review on such a sensitive topic. There is no place for homophobia in any society. Well done Emily.
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I have personally never watched this film however, after reading this insightful review it will definitely be going on my watchlist. You have really captured the full essence of the film and I can’t wait to watch now!
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A really strong review, it’s important that people are educated about the struggles of those that have gone before us.
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Excellent review, Emily, about a very difficult topic which terrified the world at that time. Films like this helped to remove the stigma of AIDS.
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It’s a shame the world did not invest its time and money combatting this disease which still decades later is responsible for more deaths in countries like South Africa than Covid… fantastic review of a great film with an excellent soundtrack.
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