Tom Hanks is among the best actors in the history of cinema and his name always arises in a discussion among seasoned movie watchers when they discuss about the best actors ever. And when one is talking about Tom Hanks, the first two or three movies that one talks about will contain "Philadelphia" as one of them. This is truly one of the most influential movies I have ever seen in my years spent watching movies. The story is about a lawyer named Andrew Beckett (Tom Hanks) who is a gay and has contracted the HIV infection. He is eventually fired from the firm where he works because of this and the movie showcases his battle for justice.
When the law firm comes to know about the truth that their top lawyer Andrew is a gay, often visits the gay clubs and in this process has acquired the HIV, they decide to find an alibi in order to "clean" their firm off Andrew. Andrew knows the bitter truth and wants to fight for his rights. And he finds a lawyer Joe Miller(Denzel Washington). One can say that essentially see the movie from the perspective of Joe Miller. He is homophobic and just like most of us, he thinks of them as inhuman people.
He is motivated by the magnitude of the case to take it up. He finds himself studying Tom Hanks and his surroundings and then begins to understand that all his inhibitions about gays are so very false. He finds Andrew to be a human being just like any other with the same level of commitment, passion and sincerity. He is exposed to the world of gays and gradually begins to understand them. And as he does, so do we. The movie's biggest strength is change our perspective about gays. The movie transforms our perspective of them from that of seeing them as senseless and stupid to seeing them as human beings just different in certain aspects. We are also taught by this movie as to how this difference between them and us is ignorable.
In the middle of the movie, we are show Andrew's lover played by Antonio Banderas. I found this part of the movie to be most beautiful. The bond of affection and love between Antonio and Tom is so wonderfully portrayed with perfect control. There are no hard scenes which could have destroyed the movie. Instead, there is the most difficult to showcase aspect called body language. It is all body language! The relationship between Andrew and his lover is understood from their body language and it teaches us that it is hardly different from the kind of love and affection we all share for each other. We are also shown their families and get a peep into their feelings and attitudes.
There are some really powerful scenes in the movie. The scene where Andrew indulges in the opera, the scene where Andrew loses his consciousness in the courtroom. And the last scene really leaves you with tears filled in your eyes. This movie dares to move on tough grounds. And it does a wonderful job. This is a must watch for all people. A very powerful movie indeed!
When the law firm comes to know about the truth that their top lawyer Andrew is a gay, often visits the gay clubs and in this process has acquired the HIV, they decide to find an alibi in order to "clean" their firm off Andrew. Andrew knows the bitter truth and wants to fight for his rights. And he finds a lawyer Joe Miller(Denzel Washington). One can say that essentially see the movie from the perspective of Joe Miller. He is homophobic and just like most of us, he thinks of them as inhuman people.
He is motivated by the magnitude of the case to take it up. He finds himself studying Tom Hanks and his surroundings and then begins to understand that all his inhibitions about gays are so very false. He finds Andrew to be a human being just like any other with the same level of commitment, passion and sincerity. He is exposed to the world of gays and gradually begins to understand them. And as he does, so do we. The movie's biggest strength is change our perspective about gays. The movie transforms our perspective of them from that of seeing them as senseless and stupid to seeing them as human beings just different in certain aspects. We are also taught by this movie as to how this difference between them and us is ignorable.
In the middle of the movie, we are show Andrew's lover played by Antonio Banderas. I found this part of the movie to be most beautiful. The bond of affection and love between Antonio and Tom is so wonderfully portrayed with perfect control. There are no hard scenes which could have destroyed the movie. Instead, there is the most difficult to showcase aspect called body language. It is all body language! The relationship between Andrew and his lover is understood from their body language and it teaches us that it is hardly different from the kind of love and affection we all share for each other. We are also shown their families and get a peep into their feelings and attitudes.
There are some really powerful scenes in the movie. The scene where Andrew indulges in the opera, the scene where Andrew loses his consciousness in the courtroom. And the last scene really leaves you with tears filled in your eyes. This movie dares to move on tough grounds. And it does a wonderful job. This is a must watch for all people. A very powerful movie indeed!