Hammerman Ikon

Hammerman Ikon Film Guide

Philadelphia
1993
***
Director: Jonathan Demme
Cast: Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Antonio Banderas, Jason Robards

This drama about a lawyer who believes he was fired from his job because he has AIDS is one of the first mainstream Hollywood productions to deal with the disease or to have an openly gay protagonist. But groundbreaking as it may be, this is not a terribly exciting film. In the second half especially it turns into a rather dire court room drama. Tom Hanks is impressive in his Oscar winning performance. Bruce Springsteen's Streets of Philadelphia also won an Academy Award for best original song.