Film Review: Philadelphia

Director: Jonathan Demme

A film from 1993 was shockingly only of the first Hollywood films to really tackle homosexuality as well as HIV/AIDS, the film does make reference to And the Band Played On by journalist Randy Shilts which was generally accepted to be the first. Demme directed Philadelphia shortly after completing his work on the critically acclaimed The Silence of the Lambs (one of the very, very few films that is better than the original novel).

Andrew Beckett (Tom Hanks)

Andrew Beckett (Tom Hanks) is a senior associate at the biggest corporate law firm in Philadelphia who lives with his partner Miguel Alvarez (Antonio Banderas) but is not open about his homosexuality. Beckett is also suffering from AIDS which he tries to hide from his partners at the firm but whilst he is at the hospital he is phoned because an important file which needs to be sent by 5pm that day has gone missing. The file is found at the last minute but Beckett is fired for the mistake and he believes someone hid the file on purpose as a reason for sacking him so he looks to sue his employers for wrongful dismissal because he was gay and had AIDS.

The film is loosely based on the lawsuit brought by Clarence B. Cain against Hyatt Legal Services for firing him after they found out he had AIDS. What unfolds in the second half of the film is mainly a court room drama as the big corporate company tries to defend itself against the accusations. The main board of directors of the big corporate firm are a slight caricature of the greedy and heartless people we're lead to believe are in charge of all big firms but in reality that probably isn't far from the truth.

Andrew in court with his lawyer Joe Miller (Denzel Washington)

The main song for the soundtrack is Streets of Philadelphia by Bruce Springsteen and its a haunting classic that plays over the opening titles. There are not many people more suited to writing a song for a movie such as this. Tom Hanks is excellent in the lead role which helped change the public image of gay people at the time, it was slightly condescending to have him dating a hispanic guy then hire a black lawyer to show unprejudiced the film was. The scene with Beckett describing the song La Mamma Morta by Maria Callas was truly moving and it is no surprise that Hanks won the Oscar that year for Best Actor. The outcome of the trial is almost secondary here as the true focus is on Andrew Beckett and the effect AIDS had on his life.

3.5/4 Deeply moving and groundbreaking drama