Review of Philadelphia (1993) by Compi24 — 28 Nov 2012

"Philadelphia" is the story of Andrew Beckett (Hanks), a promising young lawyer at an upscale law firm. When the homosexual Beckett suddenly contracts AIDS he is fired unfairly fired from his workplace.

Beckett then seeks the help of a small time homophobic lawyer, Joe Miller (Washington), to establish a wrongful dismissal case. Now from initial premise and the fact that I had heard Tom Hanks earned a Best Actor Oscar for his performance, I was expecting a fairly memorable movie.

And I got one. Tom Hanks delivers one of his best and most moving performances with his portrayal of Beckett. Probably one of the most dynamic roles I've ever seen Hanks take on. He starts out as such a vibrant young man, yet as the film progresses, Beckett's illness does as well.

Consequently, the audience witnesses the decline of a seemingly healthy man to a man who's body has been ravaged by an incurable disease. It's really quite heartbreaking. Tom Hanks worked well for this Oscar.

Along side Hanks is Washington, who also gives a fine performance as the conflicted lawyer Miller. Like Beckett, Miller goes through a significant change as well - only his soul changes, not his health.

It's really quite interesting to see Washington and Hanks work together on screen, as I've never seen it happen in any other film. The film also features a very well written script and a very nice direction from Jonathon Demme.

The ending of this film is really quite something, and. . .yeah, I'll say it - the conclusion of this film was really intense for me to watch. Pretty emotional stuff. Overall I felt that "Philadelphia" is a poignant tale that succeeds in addressing many issues that have often been neglected in our time.

I felt that it was filled to the brim with fine performances and palpable pathos. It's a great movie that I won't soon forget. Awesome.