TMH was absolutely riveting, powerful, compelling and really stirred up your emotions that asked the question – why wasn’t anything being done about it?
Like the swinging 70’s of Studio 54 and Plato’s Retreat, the early 80’s was BA………Before AIDS. It was a den of debauchery, and a den of iniquity. No one ever thought you would die from having sex from multiple partners.
As far as audience members not relating to Ned because he was too loud, too opinionated, etc…as in the Broadway play, I didn’t find that at all. Back then there was nothing else to do but yell…get noticed……get in everyone’s face because nothing was being done about it. As many of us have discussed here on this board, Larry Kramer always has been, his own worst enemy. It’s a double edged sword as you have to have someone leading the fight, and when you have someone like Ned, he can also piss you off at the same time. His rants and anger is raw and real. He was the voice of the dying.
And, it was that same anger, same attitude that got him kicked out of the organization that he founded.
It probably should have been a 2 part movie, as it did feel a bit rushed at the beginning of the film. Yet, that was the reality of the situation, when people started to get sick, it happened so fast. Nobody knew what was going on.
The play was so staggering – long monologue’s that would literally stop the show with applause, cheers & tears. Those monologues were considerably trimmed for the film.
The entire cast was fantastic – especially Julia Roberts as Emma. She had anger just below the surface throughout the entire film and she was so vulnerable. The scenes of Alfred Molina as Ned’s brother were very powerful. All Ned wanted from his brother was to be treated & thought of as equal. His brother just couldn’t accept it, until it was too late.
I did prefer Joe Montello's anger in the play over Mark's.
Matt Bomer completely transformed himself by losing 40+ pounds for the role and his scenes with Mark Ruffalo, after getting sick, are gut wrenching. Seeing his body covered in lesions, just showed how brutal and uncaring the virus is. And, of course their final scene together as they profess their love for one another and get married, just rips your heart out.
I have to admit, I was quite surprised with the new ending in TNH. In the stage version, after he dies, Ned has a speech about being mad at himself and not trying hard enough - not picketing The White House, even if nobody showed up. Perhaps it was thought to have a more upbeat ending of him going to the college event, rather than just ending with Felix's death, as the play does.
Emmy nominations are announced in July and I’m sure TNH will be showered with many nominations – as it should.
The scenes of Jim Parsons keeping the cards from his address book was very powerful. I started to do musical theatre right out of high school at various theatres - community, regional, summer stock, civic light operas, etc. I still have all my cast lists going back to the early 80's. I keep them in a drawer in my closet. And, it's been decades since I've seen or spoken to many people from that time period. But I've always kept it as a memory of that time.
When I first saw TNH three years ago in New York, after I came home I pulled out all my old cast lists, and started to count the number of young men that I knew, who died from all those shows. 35.
It was such a terrible time of fear, worry, not knowing, and pure fright.
Updated On: 5/27/14 at 11:33 AM
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