Philadelphia

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Philadelphia
(Drama) (1993)
©1999 by Raymond Weschler

Major Characters Andy Beckett....................Tom Hanks A gay lawyer practicing business law in Philadelphia, who loses his job after he begins to get sick with AIDS. Joe Miller...........................Denzel Washington A young black attorney who agrees to represent Andy in a lawsuit against Andy's former employers, for illegally firing him. Charles Wheeler...............Jason Robards Head of the law firm which fires Andy. Walter Kenton...................Charles Glenn Another important lawyer at Andy's firm, who is clearly prejudiced against homosexuals. Miguel Alvarez.................Antonio Banderas Andy's long time lover who continues to take care of him. Belinda Conine....................Mary Steenberger Attorney for Charles' law firm. Plot Summary This is the first major movie to deal with the subject of AIDS. It is about a Philadelphia lawyer, Andy Beckett, who is fired from his job after he starts to become sick. The law firm where he works claims that they fired Andy because he was no longer a good lawyer, but Andy is convinced that the real reason he was fired is because his bosses found out that he had AIDS. In the United States, it is illegal to fire somebody simply because they have a disease. Andy therefore decides to sue (file a lawsuit) against his former bosses for illegally firing him. For Andy and his family, the lawsuit will come to represent a major fight against prejudice, and thus a fight for justice. In many ways, this film is as much about Joe Miller, Andy's AfricanAmerican lawyer, as it is about Andy himself. At first, Joe refuses to work for Andy, in large part because he is himself prejudiced against both homosexuals and people with AIDS. But eventually Joe comes to realize that the discrimination Andy faces is both illegal and unethical, just as it is with

2 discrimination against blacks. He agrees to take Andy's case, and over the course of an exhausting trial,...