Philadelphia - Summary

Main characters:
· Andrew Beckett: A handsome, self-assured hotshot law graduate from Penn is on a fast track to partnership at his lawfirm. But he's hiding a dark secret from his self-satisfied employers: he's HIV-positive. When he gets fired while battling AIDS he decides to bring suit. He is warmhearted and cares much for his family who - especially his lover Miguel and his mother Sarah - are extraordinarily supportive during the case.
· Joe Miller: At first he's reluctant to help him in suing Wyant, Wheeler mostly because of his bias' against gay people. He'd rather sue the city on behalf of people who have gone out of their way to bruise their ankles on municipal property than break new legal ground by …show more content…

The play is moving, especially in the late 30 minutes and I think the director of this picture found original ways of dealing with the inevitable. For example it's obvious and somehow cliché that at some point Joe's prejudices against homosexuals will come to an end and he realizes that his bias' were wrong. In modern movies such changes are almost obligatory - as they 'have' to be corny. But Philadelphia doesn't handle that transition with lame dialogue or corny realizations of sincerity. Instead, in the most brilliant, terrific and original scene of the movie, Andrew Beckett plays an aria from his favorite opera, which he seems to identify with in his dying state. As the music plays Beckett passionately tells Miller the story involved in it.
It was during that sorrow that love came to me. Live still! I am life! Thy heaven in my eyes! Thou art not alone! I gather thy tears, I walk along thy path and sustain thee. Smile and hope for I am love. I am Love! Love! Love!
During this Scene Joe undergoes a conversion. What he finally sees is a man who loves life and doesn't want to leave and lose it (see end of chapter eight). Then, only in the movie though, the screen fades to Miller's home as he stares sleeplessly into the night....
Another scene I consider to be one of the best plays in the library where he meets Beckett again several weeks after he's paid him a visit in his office. When he sees