The Normal Heart

I'm a pretty huge fan of American Horror Story, but even I can recognize that it's just a very entertaining, corny trash-fest. Having seen nothing else from Ryan Murphy, I had no idea he had this in him, to direct a film with this much grace and eloquence. Compared to last year's Dallas Buyers Club, this is much better. If it had gotten a theatrical release, it very well could have gotten a lot of Oscar nominations. Although much of the cast is great, Matt Bommer really sails high and above everyone else. Incredible performance, very much an Oscar-winning one if there ever was, and so I hope he gets to win the Emmy at least. This is highly recommended.

I'm haunted by memories of gay friends dying in 80's when getting AIDs was a death sentence and no one seemed to care. My boyfriend's brother was one of those Fire Island boys who was so convincingly played by Mark Ruffalo (Ned Weeks). I know Mark as a comedian, but he so captured the anger that must have been felt by so many gay men who's lovers were dying and they could do nothing to stop it, no matter how much money they had. As for Matt Bomer (Felix Turner), I have to say I think he deserves an academy award for his transformation from the handsome dashing man he is, to the gaunt shadow of a figure he became due to his role's AIDs illness. What a real acting force he has become, and this role shows he is so much more than just a handsome face. Also well played was Julia Roberts depiction of Dr. Emma Brookner (Dr. Linda Laubenstein in real life who's unfunded research helped so many), Jim Parsons warm loving portrayal of character Tommy Boatwright who was the heart of the movie and showed the warmth and caring of most gay men I've known, and Taylor Kitsch portrayal of Bruce Niles which showed the reality of Gay men of that era, who feared having their sexual identity out in the public eye with all the negative consequences (harassment, job discrimination, loss of family) of that.

This is a story that people definitely need to see, to understand how this disease spread unchecked for so long. If not for the efforts of men like Ned Weeks and the Gay Activist Alliance's efforts get funding for research when no public official would even acknowledge there was a problem, who know how many more people have died and would be dying today. This is an angry gritty movie, that doesn't hold back from telling it how it was. It's also a heartbreaking story of how people treat others who are outwardly different yet inwardly the same as themselves. Which is why, whether you're gay or straight, you can relate to the sad love story told here, and the heroism of those who fought the battle to find a way to stop the deaths devastating their community. It's shockingly true that our government let this epidemic get out of control and until deaths started affecting the heterosexual community, and famous people (like Rock Hudson) did nothing to stop its rampage.

I saw the film Saturday night, it's still in my head and as I sit here writing this review. I feel a great sense of sadness for all those lost over all of these years, but what is most on my mind is Mark Ruffalo's tour De force performance as Ned Weeks.

Although a fictionalized character based on Larry Kramer, Mark made this part his own, while still keeping the aspects of Kramer's real persona. You could feel his performance, every mood of it (and believe me it runs through all of them). Mark's ability to transform into a gay man (at a time in gay history that was so scary and unimaginable) with such believability was amazing. I forgot I was watching Mark Ruffalo, his performance completely erased his own being.

There are many aspects of the film that critics are tearing into. Critics who were not even alive at the time opinion's on the subject are worthless in my view, but for those critics who have long ago left their pacifiers at home I can agree with some of the negatives.

The film showed only a segment of the gay population living in NYC at that time, primarily the rich A listers who were never political before AIDS and only became so when their own lives were in danger. The majority of gay men did not spend sex filled weekends on Fire island in expensive beach houses. They were working men of all races and incomes who because of their financial circumstances, lack of insurance etc died quickly and with little notice outside their friends and family, if they were lucky enough to have a family that accepted them (remember this was 1981 not 2014).

This film brought back a lot of sadness and regrets for me, I wanted to hug Ned Weeks and tell him that things do get better in the future. It's not often that a performance affects me, but Ruffalo's did, not because he was playing a fictionalized version of a real person, but because he was playing a little bit of a lot of different men, who at the time thought the promised land had finally arrived for gay men and only to see it turn into a Holocast right before their eyes.

I hope that Mark is nominated and wins an Emmy for his performance, because he deserves it.

When I sat down to watch The Normal Heart, I had no idea just how much I was about to be moved, amazed, traumatized, enraged, heartbroken, and enlightened. I've been passionate about gay rights and issues ever since I knew what it was to be gay, and I had not one clue how horrible the AIDS epidemic was at its inception. The Normal Heart is an unflinching look at a horrific time in our history where human beings were treated by the masses as garbage. Literally. And that's when they were even being acknowledged at all. Every actor involved gave an Oscar-worthy performance, ironically in a movie that is not eligible for the award. Mark Ruffalo's passion jumps right out of the screen at you, and in both its most angry and its most devastating, you're right there with him. Julia Roberts gives an Erin Brockovich-like performance times ten. Jim Parsons is wonderful in the first role most of us are seeing him outside of Sheldon Cooper, both with his moments of humor and more importantly with his heart. Many kudos also to Taylor Kitsch, Joe Mantello, Alfred Molina, Finn Wittrock, and of course Ryan Murphy for his fearless and beautiful direction. But Matt Bomer... Matt Bomer is THE star among stars, pulling at every single one of your heartstrings in one of the bravest roles ever committed to film. This is without a doubt one of the most important movies you will ever see.

Movie that details when AIDS hit in 1981...and the government did nothing to stop it (because it was killing just gay men). It has writer Ned Weeks (Mark Ruffalo) fighting a battle to get the news out and attacking the NYC government for doing nothing to stop it. He also falls in love with Felix Turner (Matt Bomer) a newspaper reporter. It follows him and his friends up to 1984 when the epidemic becomes too big to ignore.

I came out in 1981 and this movie captures EXACTLY what it was like. The anger, fear, hysteria and homophobia surrounding AIDS made life a living hell for gay men. This movie made me cry more than once because it bought back all the memories of friends dying...and no one seemed to care. Ruffalo is GREAT in the lead role. More than once he explodes and perfectly captures the anger and frustration gay men were feeling back then. Basically mostly the entire cast was great. Bomer was good as Felix, Julia Roberts was GREAT as a doctor who is handicapped and very frank and Taylor Kitsch was good as Bruce Niles. The only bad performance was by Jim Parsons. He tries a dramatic role and was terrible. Very wooden. Also the movie is a too long and the ending overly dramatic. Still this is essential viewing....especially for gay teens who have no idea what we went through. VERY depressing but it must be seen.