PHILADELPHIA
A film review by Greg Bole
Copyright 1993 Greg Bole
Wow, what an experience. Tonight I got to see what I suppose could be considered the world premiere of PHILADELPHIA, the new courtroom drama about AIDS by Jonathan Demme. The official premiere of the film will be in a week or two (also in this city) but there was a special free sneak-preview of the movie at the International House on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania. The place was *packed*, people were sitting on the floor about four rows deep in front of the first row of seats. It was a thrill to watch the opening of the film, which consists of shots of this city, and listen to the wild applause. Plus of course everyone went nuts whenever Penn was mentioned (Tom Hanks plays a gay lawyer who graduated from Penn's law school and is dying of AIDS) and when shots near the campus were shown (there is a very important scene supposedly in a law library that was filmed in Furness, our library of Fine Arts ... I may have messed up the spelling, I've never been in there, but it looked great).
Okay, enough about that, let's get to the movie itself. It was very powerful. It was the first movie that brought tears to my eyes in a long time. (I haven't seen THE JOY LUCK CLUB or SCHINDLER'S LIST yet however) It really was a very fine film. Most of it centered around the actual trial (Tom Hanks' character hires Denzel Washington's to sue his law firm firm when they fire him for having AIDS). There are also quite a few scenes documenting Hanks' experiences before and after his being fired, and some excellent scenes showing more about Washington's homophobic character.
The movie isn't strictly about AIDS or about the fact the main character is gay, but does focus on what these things mean to him and his family, partner, and friends. There are problems with the film; I think Demme went a bit overboard here and there, one scene in particular turned me off because of its heavy-handed approach, but over all the movie was excellent.
The performances were top-notch, Hanks was absolutely incredible in the main role, Washington was excellent, but his character could have used a bit more investigation. Jason Robards did a fine job as the head of the law firm who took Hanks in, then completely turned his back on him. I thought too many of the "negative" characters were drawn a little strongly negative, but Demme certainly wanted to bring out all the elements of society's feelings towards gays, especially those who are HIV-infected.
The movie really makes you think, and feel, and puts you into the middle of what I feel is a very important topic. I give it my full recommendation. (Also go to see some beautiful shots of my home city, one I really feel will benefit from the exposure) It really makes one appreciate life and those you care about. (A big hug to the one I really care about.) Go see it and enjoy.
Greg Bole, proud to be a Philadelphian bole@hmivax.humgen.upenn.edu
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