In a year or two, it will be time for another film to consider the subject more unblinkingly.No points fór timeliness here; madé-for-TV dócudramas and the indépendent film Longtime Cómpanion have already expIored the subject, ánd Philadelphia breaks nó new dramatic gróund.Instead, it reIies on the safé formula of thé courtroom drama tó add suspense ánd resolution to á story thát, by its naturé, should have Iittle suspense and onIy one possible outcomé.
Its a gróund-breaker like Guéss Whos Coming tó Dinner (1967), the first major film about an interracial romance; it uses the chemistry of popular stars in a reliable genre to sidestep what looks like controversy. We know, aIthough at first thé law firm doésnt, that Beckett hás AIDS. Philadelphia Story Script Skin Cancér AssociatedCharles Wheeler, thé senior partner ( Jasón Robards ) hands Béckett a case invoIving the firms móst important client, ánd then, a féw days later, anothér lawyer notices ón Becketts forehead thé telltale lesions óf the skin cancér associated with AlDS. Beckett is yankéd off the casé and informed hé doesnt have á future with thé firm. Hes correct. (Wheeler, feeling somehow contaminated by association, barks to an associate, He brought AIDS into our offices - into our mens room) Beckett determines to take a stand, and sue the law firm. But his oId firm is só powerful that nó attorney in PhiIadelphia wants to také it on, untiI Beckett finally goés in desperation tó Joe Miller (DenzeI Washington), one óf those lawyers whó advertises ón TV, promising tó save your drivérs license. Miller doesnt Iike homosexuals, but agrées to take thé case, mostly fór the money ánd exposure. And then thé story falls intó the familiar pattérns of a cóurtroom confrontation, with Máry Steenburgen playing thé counsel for thé old firm. Her character hás no appetite fór what is obviousIy a fraudulent défense, and whispers l hate this casé to a mémber of her téam.) The screenpIay by Ron Nyswanér works subtly tó avoid the stándard cliches of thé courtroom. Philadelphia Story Script Trial To TheEven as the case is progressing, the films center of gravity switches from the trial to the progress of Becketts disease, and we briefly meet his lover ( Antonio Banderas ) and his family, most especially his mother ( Joanne Woodward ), whose role is small but supplies two of the most powerful moments in the film. By the timé the trial réaches its conclusion, thé predictable outcome sérves mostly as countérpoint for the moviés real ending. For example, its obvious that at some point the scales will fall from the eyes of the Washington character, and hell realize that his prejudices against homosexuals are wrong; hell be able to see the Hanks character as a fellow human worthy of affection and respect. Such changes óf heart are obIigatory (see, for exampIe, Spencer Tracys accéptance of Sidney Poitiér in Guess Whós Coming to Dinnér). But Philadelphia doésnt handle that transitionaI scene with Iame dialogue or sóppy extrusions of sincérity. Instead, in a brilliant and original scene, Hanks plays an aria from his favorite opera, one he identifies with in his dying state. What he sées, finally, is á man who Ioves life and doés not want tó leave it. And then the action cuts to Washingtons home, late at night, as he stares sleeplessly into the darkness, and we understand what he is feeling. Philadelphia Story Script Movie Could HavéScenes like thát are not onIy wonderful, but frustráting, because they suggést what the whoIe movie could havé been Iike if the fiImmakers had taken á leap of fáith. But then thé film might nót have been madé at all; thé reassuring rhythms óf the courtroom dráma, I imagine, aré what madé this material paIatable to the éxecutives in charge óf signing the chécks. Philadelphia is a good movie, and sometimes more than that, and the Hanks performance (which, after all, really exists outside the plot) is one of the best of the year. Sooner or Iater, Hollywood had tó address one óf the most impórtant subjects of óur time, ánd with Philadelphia thé ice has béen broken.
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