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All Movie Info
Starring:
Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Antonio Banderas, Jason Robards Jr., Joanne Woodward, Mary Steenburgen, Ron Vawter, Robert Ridgely, Obba Babatundé, Roger Corman, John Bedford Lloyd, Roberta Maxwell, Warren Miller, Anna Deavere Smith, Kathryn Witt, Andre B. Blake, Ann Dowd, Bradley Whitford, Paul Lazar, Daniel von Bargen, Tracey Walter, Joey Perillo, Robert Castle, Daniel Chapman, Chandra Wilson, Charles Glenn, Peter Jacobs, Dan Olmstead, Lauren Roselli, Bill Rowe, Lisa Talerico
Directed By:
Jonathan Demme
Written By:
Ron Nyswaner
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Philadelphia (1993)
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Movie Review by Jarrod 
September 7th, 2007
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'Philadelphia' is a riveting, poignant movie about a man named Andrew Beckett (Tom Hanks), a talented young lawyer dismissed from his high-profile firm when it is discovered that he is gay, and has contracted AIDS. The bigots who run the firm, headed by Charles Wheeler (Jason Robards), claim that Andrew was incompetent, and that they simply got rid of him because he was not honest with them, but their prejudice, ignorance, and fear is always on full display, but many in society are sympathetic to their feelings. Beckett must go to Joe Miller (Washington), a homophobe himself, for legal representation, and Miller is reluctant to take the case, which Andrew has filed to get compensation from Wheeler and his other former employers. Miller eventually comes around, and Beckett finds support from his lover, Miguel (Antonio Banderas).
The court room sequences are well-written and extremely compelling, tense and exciting. The relationship between Miller and Beckett is surprisingly tender, one of respect, as Miller, despite his belief that homosexuality is immoral, cannot help but feel sorry for Andrew, whose body deteriorates from the dread disease, and he wastes away physically, with Hanks looking startlingly frail and sick, thanks to incredibly convincing make-up effects. His whole performance is perfect, emotionally expressive, dignified, wholly committed to this character and making us care for him and his plight, which isn't hard to do, considering those who stand against him. Hanks won his first Oscar for this role, well-deserved I think, but he beat out the Schindler's List nominees, which I find to be an injustice, but I digress. Denzel Washington is in fine form, and his professional duties far exceed his personal animosities, which makes him more likable than he initially appears to be.
Bruce Springsteen's haunting opening song, "Streets of Philadelphia" also won an Oscar, and Neil Young contributes another excellent tune about the title city, which plays over the credits. 'Philadelphia' is a drama of the highest order, and its sad (though perhaps inevitable) ending is incredibly moving, done wonderfully by director Jonathan Demme and screenwriter Ron Nyswaner. The movie, overall, is a meditation on attitudes towards gays during the height of the AIDS scare in the 1980s, when everyone who had the disease (regardless of how they got it) was stigmatized and shunned, a tragic state of affairs that has hopefully improved over the successive decades.
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