Philadelphia (film)

Philadelphia
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Jonathan Demme
Written by	Ron Nyswaner
Produced by	Jonathan Demme Edward Saxon
Starring	Tom Hanks Denzel Washington Jason Robards Mary Steenburgen Antonio Banderas
Cinematography	Tak Fujimoto
Edited by	Craig McKay
Music by	Howard Shore
Distributed by	TriStar Pictures
Release date	December 24, 1993 (1993-12-24)
Running time	125 minutes
Country	Template:Film US
Language	English
Budget	$26 million
Box office	$206,678,440

Philadelphia is a 1993 American drama film and one of the first mainstream Hollywood films to acknowledge HIV/AIDS, homosexuality and homophobia. It was written by Ron Nyswaner and directed by Jonathan Demme. The film stars Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington. It was inspired in part by the story of Geoffrey Bowers, an attorney who in 1987 sued the law firm Baker & McKenzie for wrongful dismissal in one of the first AIDS discrimination cases.

Tom Hanks won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in the film, while the song "Streets of Philadelphia" won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Ron Nyswaner was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, but lost to Jane Campion for The Piano.

Plot

Andrew Beckett (Tom Hanks) is a senior associate at the largest corporate law firm in Philadelphia. Although he lives with his partner Miguel Álvarez (Antonio Banderas), Beckett is not open about his homosexuality at the law firm, nor the fact that he is HIV positive. On the day he is assigned the firm's newest and most important case, one of the firm's partners notices a small lesion on Beckett's forehead. Shortly thereafter, Beckett stays home from work for several days to try to find a way to hide his lesions. While at home, he finishes the complaint for the case he has been assigned and then brings it to his office, leaving instructions for his assistants to file the complaint in court on the following day, which marks the end of the statute of limitations for the case. Beckett suffers from bowel spasms at home and is rushed to the hospital. Later that morning, while still at the ER, he receives a frantic call from the firm asking for the complaint, as the paper copy cannot be found and there are no copies on the computer's hard drive. However, the complaint is finally discovered and is filed with the court at the last possible moment. The following day, Beckett is dismissed by the firm's partners, who had previously referred to him as their "buddy", but now question his professional abilities in light of the misplaced document.

Beckett believes that someone deliberately hid his paperwork to give the firm a pretext to fire him, and that the firing is actually as a result of his diagnosis with AIDS. He asks several attorneys to take his case, including personal injury lawyer Joe Miller (Denzel Washington), with whom he had been involved in a previous case. Miller, who is admittedly homophobic and knows little about Beckett's AIDS, initially declines to take the case and immediately visits his doctor to find out if he could have contracted the AIDS through shaking Beckett's hand. The doctor explains the methods of HIV infection. The doctor then offers to take a sample of Miller's blood, suspecting that Miller was asking about AIDS because he suspected he had contracted it and was trying to hide it. Miller dismisses the request by laughing it off, thinking it a joke. Unable to find a lawyer willing to represent him, Beckett is compelled to act as his own attorney. While researching a case at a law library, Miller sees Beckett at a nearby table. After a librarian announces that he has found a book on AIDS discrimination for Beckett, others in the library begin to first stare and then move away, and the librarian suggests Beckett retire to a private room. Disgusted by their behavior, Miller approaches Beckett and reviews the material he has gathered. It is obvious he has decided to take the case. Upon receiving a summons by Miller, the head of the firm, Charles Wheeler (Jason Robards), worries about the damage the lawsuit could do to his business and reputation, although one partner (Ron Vawter) unsuccessfully tries to convince them to settle out of court with Beckett.

As the case goes before the court, Wheeler takes the stand, claiming that Beckett was incompetent and claiming that he had deliberately tried to hide his condition. The defense repeatedly suggests that Beckett had invited his illness through promiscuity and was therefore not a victim. In the course of testimony, it is revealed that the partner who had noticed Beckett's lesion had previously worked with a woman who had contracted AIDS after a blood transfusion and so would have recognized the lesion as relating to AIDS. To prove that the lesions would have been visible, Miller asks Beckett to unbutton his shirt while on the witness stand, revealing that his lesions were indeed visible and recognizable as such.

During cross-examination, Beckett admits that he was originally planning to tell his law colleagues that he was gay, but changed his mind after hearing them make homophobic jokes in the sauna of a health club. When asked about the truth of how he got infected, he confirms that he engaged in anonymous sex with another man at a pornographic movie theater. However, he and Miller gain an advantage when the partner who advised settling out of court confesses he long suspected Beckett had AIDS but never said anything, and how he regrets his inaction.

Beckett collapses during Wheeler's testimony. During his hospitalization, the jury votes in his favor, awarding him back pay, damages for pain and suffering, and punitive damages totaling nearly $4.5M. Miller visits Beckett in the hospital after the verdict and overcomes his fear enough to touch Beckett's face. After Beckett's family leaves the room, he tells Miguel that he is ready to die. A short scene immediately afterward shows Miller getting the word that Beckett has died. The movie ends with a reception at Beckett's home following the funeral, where many mourners, including the Millers, view home movies of Beckett as a healthy child.

Cast

• Tom Hanks as Andrew Beckett
• Denzel Washington as Joe Miller
• Jason Robards as Charles Wheeler
• Antonio Banderas as Miguel Álvarez
• Joanne Woodward as Sarah Beckett
• Mary Steenburgen as Belinda Conine
• Charles Napier as Judge Garnett
• Roberta Maxwell as Judge Tate
• Buzz Kilman as Crutches
• Karen Finley as Dr. Gillman
• Paul Lazar as Dr. Klenstein
• Bradley Whitford as Jamey Collins
• Daniel Chapman as Clinic Storyteller
• Jeffrey Williamson as Tyrone
• Charles Glenn as Kenneth Killcoyne
• Ron Vawter as Bob Seidman
• Anna Deavere Smith as Anthea Burton
• Stephanie Roth as Rachel Smilow
• Lisa Talerico as Shelby
• Tracey Walter as Librarian
• Julius Erving as himself
• Ed Rendell as Ed Rendell
• Chandra Wilson as Chandra
• Roger Corman as Mr. Laird

-Note: Charles Napier, Paul Lazar, Ron Vawter and Tracey Walter all appeared in Jonathan Demme's 1991 film The Silence of the Lambs as well.

Release

Box office

Philadelphia was originally released on December 24, 1993, to a limited opening weekend of only 4 theaters and grossed $143,433 with an average of $35,858 per theater. The film expanded its release on January 14, 1994, showing in 1,245 theaters and grossing $13,817,010 in a 4-day weekend due to Martin Luther King Day.

Philadelphia eventually grossed $77,446,440 in the US and $129,232,000 overseas for a total of $206,678,440. It was a commercial success, becoming the 12th highest grossing film in the US of 1993.

Reception

Philadelphia was well received by critics, garnering a 75% approval rating at online movie critic site Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 6.6/10 from its normal contributors and a 87% approval rating from its user base.

Accolades

The film won Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Tom Hanks), and Best Original Song (Bruce Springsteen for "Streets of Philadelphia"). Tom Hanks also won the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the 44th Berlin International Film Festival.

It was also nominated for another Best Original Song award (Neil Young) for "Philadelphia", as well as Best Makeup (Carl Fullerton and Alan D'Angerio), and Best Original Screenplay (Ron Nyswaner).

This film's protagonist, Andrew Beckett, is listed at #49 among the heroes on the AFI's list of the Top 100 Heroes and Villains.

The film was ranked #20 on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Cheers.

Soundtrack album

A soundtrack album was released in 1993 containing the main music featured in the film.

Track listing

1. Bruce Springsteen: "Streets of Philadelphia" – 3:56
2. Peter Gabriel: "Lovetown" – 5:29
3. Pauletta Washington: "It's in Your Eyes" – 3:46
4. Ram (16): "Ibo Lele (Dreams Come True)" – 4:15
5. Sade: "Please Send Me Someone to Love" – 3:44
6. Spin Doctors: "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" – 2:41
7. Indigo Girls: "I Don't Wanna Talk About It" – 3:41
8. Maria Callas: "La Mamma Morta (From the Opera Andrea Chénier)" – 4:53
9. Neil Young: "Philadelphia" – 4:06
10. Howard Shore: "Precedent" – 4:03

The album was rereleased in 2008 in France only as a joint CD and DVD pack with the film itself, however the track listing remained the same. The catalogue number is 88697 322052 under both the Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Sony Classical labels with identical catalogue numbers.

Controversy

The film was the second Hollywood big-budget, big-star film to tackle the issue of AIDS in the U.S. (following the TV movie And the Band Played On) and signaled a shift in Hollywood films toward more realistic depictions of gays and lesbians. According to a Tom Hanks interview for the 1996 documentary The Celluloid Closet, scenes showing more affection between him and Banderas were cut, including one with him and Banderas in bed together. The DVD edition, produced by Automat Pictures, includes this scene.

Geoffrey Bowers

The family of Geoffrey Bowers sued the writers and producers. A year after Bowers's death, producer Scott Rudin interviewed the Bowers family and their lawyers and, according to the family, promised compensation for the use of Bowers's story as a basis for the film. Family members asserted that 54 scenes in the movie are so similar to events in Bowers's life that some of them could only have come from their interviews. However, the defense said that Rudin abandoned the project after hiring a writer and did not share any information the family had provided. The lawsuit was settled after five days of testimony. Although terms of the agreement were not released, the defendants did admit that "the film 'was inspired in part'" by Bowers's story.

See also

• List of American films of 1993
• Cultural depictions of Philadelphia
• Andrea Chénier, opera by Umberto Giordano

External links

• Philadelphia at IMDb
• Philadelphia at AllMovie
• Philadelphia at Box Office Mojo
• Movie stills