I had a lot of mixed feelings when Philadelphia was released as a queer man who had friends who were living with HIV at the time, some who lived long lives afterward and other who did not. There were queer movies of the era (like Longtime Companion) that centered the queer experience in ways that this film felt like it wasn't able to, catering to a mainstream audiences. Philadelphia, as the first "gay" mainstream movie (which isn't entirely true), had a lot of expectations at the time and it felt somewhat like it traded gay authenticity for mainstream palatability.
Still Philadelphia meant something to me. I remember crying during it the first time I saw it. I remember watching a straight man very earnestly bringing a noble gay character to life and even if he was a bit of a magical gay trope, and even if the celebrations were around straight men and their accomplishments on this gay story, it was still a gay story, one that focused a microscope on homophobia in a way that rarely saw the light of day in mainstream media.
So rewatching it decades later I approached Philadelphia with a bit of trepidation but also nostalgia. And rewatching it brought back a lot of feelings, if not always the ones I expected.
Demme is an incredible film maker and having just come off his masterpiece Silence of the Lambs, one that has a troubled history with queerness itself, he reminds me just how much I love watching his work. Like he did in that previous film, Demme likes to put the camera uncomfortably in the faces of its subject, making it so we can't look away. Weather we are forced to look Hanks in the face, look into the eyes of Washington's homophobic character, or into the faces of any of the other characters, Philadelphia doesn't let us look away. On rewatch I was shaken at how much truth telling it does.
Since originally seeing the film I have often felt that it is Washington's character who is the real protagonist of Philadelphia. We follow his journey. Hanks' Beckett is the instigator that moves Washington's Miller through the real arc of the film. Because the film isn't about a gay man. It's about a straight man who has to confront his own homophobia, wrestle with it, because its audience is in the same boat. This film forces its audience to look in a mirror and see their own homophobia without being able to deny it. That is one of the greatest strengths of the movie.
Hanks gives a beautiful performance that is worthy of all the accolades he got at the time. It is nuanced and demonstrates the great strength of his character. Again I cried in the moments he shares with his family and his partner, the unbelievably gorgeous Banderas in his younger days. He doesn't just play the sacrificial hero. He gives Beckett all the dimensions. Yes that scene where he describes the aria is as powerful as we remember.
But again I couldn't take my eyes off Washington who chilled me with his powerful portrayal of bigotry and the very honest path through reformation. Washington has the more subtle moments. There is a moment when he is just watching Beckett with his partner where the way he sees his humanity is just so palpable it chases away all the fear he had before. Because Philadelphia once again turns the tables on us. It isn't about AIDS as much as it is about homophobia and its deep routes in American culture. Just like the AIDS crisis itself was so powerfully coloured by the homophobia and racism of the time. Philadelphia tackles that. It continuously returns to the hatred of gays in America, to the hatred of gays in the character of Miller, of the hatred of gays in the audience. It keeps making us look at it and not look away. And for that the film is bold, especially for its time.
It's also a damn good courtroom drama. Law movies often dramatize the court experience in a show stopping way that takes away its authenticity. Philadelphia isn't completely innocent of this, but it effectively deconstructs the legal profession and the practice of law in a way that exposes the systemic failures of LGBTQ2S+ people. And it makes a very compelling argument for conviction.
There is a beautiful moment in the court room, a brief moment, when the defence is attempting to imply Beckett's non-monogamy makes him not credible or trustworthy, that his whole life of concealing his sexuality makes him untrustworthy. The camera for a moment focuses on Banderas' face, while they are talking about his partner's infidelity, and Banderas expresses the most loving and supportive look. The script, from queer writer Nyswaner, captures the power and beauty of queer love, even in this mainstream, heterosexual narrative.
Yes the film is restrained in the way it shows two men loving each other. It isn't a perfect film. But it is beautiful and shows its strengths have held up over time. It is a film of its time and of its audience. But it is relentless in how it pushes those things.
And Streets of Philadelphia holds up as a truly kick ass song.
Philadelphia
Starring: Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Jason Robards, Mary Steenburgen, Antonio Banderas, Joanne Woodward, Anna Deavere Smith, Robert Ridgely, Lisa Summerour, Charles Napier, Ann Dowd, Chandra Wilson, Bradley Whitford
Director: Jonathan Demme
Writer: Ron Nyswaner
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