PHILADELPHIA
A film review by Scott Renshaw
Copyright 1994 Scott Renshaw
Starring: Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Jason Robards, Mary Steenburgen, Antonio Banderas. Screenplay: Ron Nyswaner. Director: Jonathan Demme.
Maybe I've just been lucky, but after living in Northern California for almost ten years I no longer think of "tolerance" as merely a buzzword; it's part of the fabric of life. Consequently, I couldn't help but feel slightly patronized by the sense of outrage which provides the backbone of Jonathan Demme's PHILADELPHIA. The message was important, but to me, it wasn't news. When that message is stripped away to permit examination of the filmmaking, I find as many examples of what I consider bad decisions as I find good decisions, and too many characters who come off as walking allegories.
PHILADELPHIA is the story of Andrew Beckett (Tom Hanks), a successful attorney in a large Philadelphia law firm. He also happens to be gay and HIV-positive, facts unknown to anyone in the law firm when he is handed an extremely important case. Soon, however, the appearance of Karposi's sarcoma lesions on Andrew's face make it clear that he has developed AIDS. When crucial documents in the important case appear to have been misplaced, Andrew is fired, ostensibly for incompetence. Andrew believes differently, and takes his case to Joe Miller (Denzel Washington), an ambulance-chasing personal injury lawyer with a profound streak of homophobia. Joe decides to set aside his personal feelings to represent Andrew and attempt to prove that he was fired simply for being gay and a person with AIDS.
PHILADELPHIA opens strongly with an effective montage of city scenes, underscored by the wonderful new Bruce Springsteen song "The Streets of Philadelphia." We see Andrew as a typical workaholic attorney, already living with HIV as part of his life. It is to screenwriter Ron Nyswaner's credit that it doesn't offer the stock scene of a doctor delivering the somber news; HIV from the outset is simply one element in Andrew's life, but not the defining element. Joe Miller is equally well-established, both at work and at home, as an Everyman who recognizes somewhere the social similarities between being a black man and being a person with AIDS. PHILADELPHIA sets the stage effectively, making the way this case will affect the two men the focal point of the story.
The problems begin once PHILADELPHIA hits the courtroom. As a courtroom drama, PHILADELPHIA is fairly pedestrian stuff, lacking real dramatic punch and giving in to preachy speeches. Demme makes the extremely questionable decision of framing much of one lengthy trial sequence from Andrew's perspective as he grows weaker. There are distracting camera angles and sound echoes which make it difficult to concentrate on what anyone involved is actually saying. Andrew's condition became the total focus at a time when it simply wasn't appropriate in the narrative. Outside the courtroom things aren't much better. The relationship between Andrew and his partner Miguel (Antonio Banderas) is practically an afterthought, and it struck me that their one shared kiss is hidden from the camera by Hanks' head, and that neither one ever says "I love you." PHILADELPHIA's most talked-about scene involves Andrew responding to an aria, a scene which seems calculated to be one of those tour-de- force moments that wins Oscars. I found it way over the top.
Hanks' performance has been touted as an Oscar front-runner, and while he makes some bold choices, I don't feel it's the best work he's done, or even the best work he's done this year. With the exception of the aforementioned aria scene, the character of Andrew stagnates, and becomes more of a representative gay man with AIDS than a real person. The same is true of Jason Robards as the senior partner in Andrew's firm; he's too cut-and-dried, right down to citing the Bible on the witness stand. By far the best work, and the most dynamic character, is Denzel Washington's Joe Miller. Once again Washington fills the screen with energy, and isn't afraid to show Miller's warts, making him a very real typical American.
As with THE WEDDING BANQUET, I went into PHILADELPHIA wanting to like it and glad that it had been made. But once again I felt the message deserved a better messenger, one that treats homosexuality as matter-of-factly as the recent TALES OF THE CITY miniseries on PBS. PHILADELPHIA is a good idea, just not a particularly good film.
On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 red ribbons: 5.
-- Scott Renshaw Stanford University Office of the General Counsel
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