Philadelphia Movie Essay

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Recommended: Portrayal of gays in media

Philadelphia is a powerful movie that addresses discrimination of homosexuals, especially victims of AIDs. The film focuses on Andrew “Andy” Beckett (played by Tom Hanks), an up and coming lawyer at a prominent law firm in Philadelphia. Andy is homosexual, a fact he does not divulge to the law firm partners, and is battling AIDs. When one of the law partners recognizes a tell-tale AIDS lesion on Andy, Andy’s work is sabotaged via a misplaced document that is later found without any consequences, however Andy is fired over the incident. Andy believes that he has been fired due to his HIV status and peruses a discrimination suit against his former law firm. Attempting to find an attorney to represent him proves to be difficult. Andy approaches Joe Miller (played by Denzel Washington) to represent him, however Joe refuses to represent Andy based on his on fears of homosexuality and HIV. A few weeks later Joe encounters Andy at the library where Andy is searching precedent rulings regarding AIDs discrimination cases. Joe watches from a far as Andy is maltreated by the librarian and fellow patrons when it is …show more content…

The scene that follows is immensely powerful, La Mamma Morta begins to play on the stereo, Andy turns up the volume and begins to translate the words to Joe; ‘I bring sorrow to those that love me...Heaven is in my eyes… Into heaven! Ah! am love, I am love.” At the end of this scene it is clear that Andy is coming to terms with his own impending death; at the end of the movie Andy states he is ready to go. Joe also is impacted by the thoughts of his own immortality and the ones he loves; Joe goes home, takes his sleeping infant daughter out of her crib, hugs her tells her he loves her, tenderly tucks he back in and goes to his sleeping wife, climbs in to bed without undressing, hugs and kisses, lying awake, presumably thinking of

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