First of all, I get why this movie was so praised and so famous, I really do. The subject was perfect for its time, the actors brilliant, and the message delivered sensitively. The writers carefully picked apart most of the prejudices that people still have towards homosexuals and AIDS victims in an entertaining way, they showed us what homophobia really is, and gave us characters that you feel deeply for. That said, there is no denying that Philadelphia is severely limited. Facts stands that this was made for the heterosexual public to deal with an urgent subject in 1993, and that is glaringly obvious, even though it was probably just what the doctor ordered.
17 years after this was a burning question, and for someone who isn't a member of the straight target audience, that means that the central plot became much too simplistic for my tastes, and what did get me hooked on the movie was the promising conflicts that were, quite sadly, barely hinted at. Take Andy's and Miguel's relationship for example. They give more affection to friends and family than each other, yet nobody seems to acknowledge it. Then we have Miguel's obsession with nursing Andy clashing with Andy's denial and Andy throwing a huge party when Miguel asks for more of his time. On top of that we have the exposed infidelity, which combined with Miguel's near serenity right before and after Andy's death makes me wonder whether their relationship really survived that crisis, or whether it was the guilt of leaving a fatally ill man that kept them together. In other words, while the very overt kind of discrimination against homosexuals that is shown here is becoming something that we can relate to less and less, relationships in crisis and the impact that a fatal disease have on the people around its victim is something that most of us are going to live through.
On the other hand, some of these hinted conflicts may very well just be a clear demonstration of how neglected Andy's personal life was. While it is apparent that the writers tried to create an impression of who he was outside of his career with the huge family and many friends, there are simply too many of them; the screen time is just not enough for us to get to know all of his siblings, nephews, in laws and friends. The result is that they become a faceless mass of spectators, and we end up learning nothing at all about Andy. And if you look at what I've written about his relationship to Miguel, the one that has received some care at least, you can see that it's badly inconsistent. How can the man who bosses his boyfriend's doctors around and get a minor breakdown over a missed treatment possibly have become the man who is passively listening to a doctor while looking no more than concerned, and then lets his lover die while barely blinking, all within a week? It seems that his actions are more based on what makes Andy look good than what fits his character, and as I've noted, that only make their relationship come across as suspicious. Andy's own personality leaves a lot of questions too, and with some unfortunate implications in their wake. Just how did a man raised in what seems to be a fairly traditional family, graduated from an old, prestigious university and working for a conservative law firm get so comfortable with having his stereotypical gay friends come over on a sick day á la the stereotypical "framily"? How did he fit so well in with the rest of the community that he could throw a huge drag/masquerade party complete with a barbershop choir and a band? This seems to be two parts of his life that are different as night and day, and much like Miguel's behavior, we are never given an explanation of how he manages to tie them together. Once again the information we get about Andy only makes it seem like he has every personality and none at the same time.
To sum up, this film could be seen as having two aspects of a story of good quality. The first would be what it was praised for in 1993, for picking apart a problem of society that was acute then and bringing it to attention. The second would be what could have made Philadelphia interesting for future generations and what could have spoken to the people that it was supposed to portray. But the scales tipped heavily in favor of the former aspect, making the film fade into obscurity when the novelty wore off, and leaves me wishing for a remake that would take pity on the potential wasted in this movie.
17 years after this was a burning question, and for someone who isn't a member of the straight target audience, that means that the central plot became much too simplistic for my tastes, and what did get me hooked on the movie was the promising conflicts that were, quite sadly, barely hinted at. Take Andy's and Miguel's relationship for example. They give more affection to friends and family than each other, yet nobody seems to acknowledge it. Then we have Miguel's obsession with nursing Andy clashing with Andy's denial and Andy throwing a huge party when Miguel asks for more of his time. On top of that we have the exposed infidelity, which combined with Miguel's near serenity right before and after Andy's death makes me wonder whether their relationship really survived that crisis, or whether it was the guilt of leaving a fatally ill man that kept them together. In other words, while the very overt kind of discrimination against homosexuals that is shown here is becoming something that we can relate to less and less, relationships in crisis and the impact that a fatal disease have on the people around its victim is something that most of us are going to live through.
On the other hand, some of these hinted conflicts may very well just be a clear demonstration of how neglected Andy's personal life was. While it is apparent that the writers tried to create an impression of who he was outside of his career with the huge family and many friends, there are simply too many of them; the screen time is just not enough for us to get to know all of his siblings, nephews, in laws and friends. The result is that they become a faceless mass of spectators, and we end up learning nothing at all about Andy. And if you look at what I've written about his relationship to Miguel, the one that has received some care at least, you can see that it's badly inconsistent. How can the man who bosses his boyfriend's doctors around and get a minor breakdown over a missed treatment possibly have become the man who is passively listening to a doctor while looking no more than concerned, and then lets his lover die while barely blinking, all within a week? It seems that his actions are more based on what makes Andy look good than what fits his character, and as I've noted, that only make their relationship come across as suspicious. Andy's own personality leaves a lot of questions too, and with some unfortunate implications in their wake. Just how did a man raised in what seems to be a fairly traditional family, graduated from an old, prestigious university and working for a conservative law firm get so comfortable with having his stereotypical gay friends come over on a sick day á la the stereotypical "framily"? How did he fit so well in with the rest of the community that he could throw a huge drag/masquerade party complete with a barbershop choir and a band? This seems to be two parts of his life that are different as night and day, and much like Miguel's behavior, we are never given an explanation of how he manages to tie them together. Once again the information we get about Andy only makes it seem like he has every personality and none at the same time.
To sum up, this film could be seen as having two aspects of a story of good quality. The first would be what it was praised for in 1993, for picking apart a problem of society that was acute then and bringing it to attention. The second would be what could have made Philadelphia interesting for future generations and what could have spoken to the people that it was supposed to portray. But the scales tipped heavily in favor of the former aspect, making the film fade into obscurity when the novelty wore off, and leaves me wishing for a remake that would take pity on the potential wasted in this movie.