Philadelphia Film Review

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The film Philadelphia (1993) is one of the first Hollywood films to really look at homosexuality.  This film comes at a time shortly after the aids epidemic in the United States.  This film stars Tom Hanks who plays Andrew Beckett a lawyer at a high profile law firm in Philadelphia who is fired shortly after because he has aids.   Beckett tries hire a small time lawyer Joe Miller played by Denzel Washington, who homophobic, in order to sue his former employer for unlawful termination.   Miller refuses to work with Beckett because he is scared of Beckett and his disease, how when Miller sees Beckett being discriminated against because of his appearance.  In the film you see Miller and Beckett become closer, and you see Miller come over his homophobia by realizing that there is no difference between himself and Beckett.  Not only does this film look at a homosexual mans struggle with aids but it also looks at how discrimination affects people in America.

 

This film is one of the first to really tackle the idea of aids and its impact.  However the reason I find this film so interesting is because it looks at how discrimination evolves.  Miller who is an African American man living in Philadelphia who probably faced a lot of discrimination in his life than places similar discrimination onto Tom Hanks character Andrew Beckett.  One of the most interesting scenes is when Miller is discussing Beckett’s case with his wife and says his does want to touch him or breath the same air as him, because at this time many people still didn’t know how aids was transmitted.  This was one of the most interesting scenes to me because this something I’m sure many white Americans have said when discussing African Americans.   Casting an African American actor to play this role of homophobic lawyer Joe Miller really captures the juxtaposition of racial and sexual discrimination.   In a scene when both Miller and Beckett are in a library, Miller over hears a conversation between Beckett and a librarian, where the librarian ask if Beckett would be more comfortable in a private room with Beckett replying would you be more comfortable with me in a private room.   This scene is when Millers homophobic attitude changes because he realizes has felt the discrimination that Beckett is experiencing.

This film also attempts to break down the stereotype of homosexual men in popular culture.  The character of Andrew Beckett doesn’t exhibit any of the common stereotypes associated with being a gay man.  He isn’t fashionable in anyway, he doesn’t talk a differently and he does display any feminine characteristic that are common in many portrayals of gay men.  Andrew Beckett is just a regular man, which is an important aspect in this film because it shows that whether you are gay or not you deserve to be treated equally.

 

This is one of the most amazing movies of this era because touches on so many emotions while still shining a light on discrimination in todays society.   This film was also incredibly well cast with Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington playing two characters that are both very relatable to the audience.  Washington’s portrayal of homophobic lawyer is a character many people at the time can relate to but his transition from homophobe to compassionate friend is also believable.  Tom Hanks who one an Oscar for portrayal of Andrew Beckett gives a fantastic performance as a dying man fighting for his right to be treaded equally.   This is a very honest film which allows any viewer to understand the struggle gay men and anyone who is HIV positive have experienced

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107818/

61 thoughts on “Philadelphia Film Review”

  1. Thanks Chloe – this is a really interesting post, especially in conversation with our discussion of The Watermelon Woman. I haven’t actually seen Philadelphia, but I think it’s safe to say it’s a very different film than Watermelon Woman . . . it’s marketed to a mainstream audience, it cost a lot more to make . . . and it’s also a much more tragic story than WW.

    This point in your first paragraph is particularly interesting: “you see Miller come over his homophobia by realizing that there is no difference between himself and Beckett.” Some queer cinema films—films made by LGBT people, aimed primarily toward an LGBT audience—take a very different approach than Philadelphia. Rather than focusing on the message of “people are all the same inside,” queer cinema films often focus on what makes LGBT culture unique and different from mainstream culture, partly as a way of solidifying group identity. It’s interesting to think about these two opposing messages as different means of achieving a similar goal of improving the lives of LGBT people in the U.S.

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