52in52: Philadelphia

Philadelphia is a court drama starring Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington. The court case is about an illegal termination lawsuit where Tom Hank’s law firm purposely hid his brief to pretend like they could fire him for negligence when, in reality, they fired him because they found out he had AIDS. There wasn’t much actual law in the movie; there weren’t many precedents set or other cases mentioned. It was more a commentary on how people with AIDs and more generally gay people were treated and still are treated, and the relationship between Denzel and Tom.

Denzel Washington’s character starts as a bigot, talking about how he can’t understand homosexual relationships and initially passes on Tom Hanks’ case when approached by him due to “personal reasons”. However, I think Denzel changes his mind and works with Tom when he sees how Tom is treated at the library. Tom is being othered and stereotyped in the same way the librarians did to Denzel, and once he realized that, he knew that he should help. Even in court, Denzel had said something in the courtroom like “even though I don’t agree with his lifestyle, it was clear a law had been broken”. Slowly, Denzel warmed up to Tom’s “alternative lifestyle”. I think Denzel fully accepted Tom after the costume party. Denzel and Tom have this grand yet private moment. Tom is explaining the opera, the lyrics and the story of the singer, the lights are flashing, and Denzel’s eyes are entirely locked on Tom. When the moment is over, Denzel snaps from a daze and rushes home to his wife. As he holds her, his eyes remain open, staring into nothing, the opera song still playing in his head. I think this is the moment Denzel accepts Tom as human and an equal. He understands there is no right or wrong decision when it comes to homosexuality or heterosexuality; there is just existing as people, enjoying the things we do.

I really enjoyed the movie, 3.8/5! Next week I am watching Look Back, the animated movie adaptation of Fujimoto’s one shot manga!

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