Philadelphia (1993)
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A man with AIDS seeks a personal injury attorney to sue his former law firm for wrongful termination.
The story
In the early 1990s, Andrew Beckett is a senior associate at a Philadelphia law firm where he conceals his homosexuality and his status as an AIDS patient. After being fired by the firm for what he believes is discrimination based on his condition, he seeks out Joe Miller, a personal injury attorney. Miller initially refuses the case due to his own fears and prejudices but eventually agrees to represent Beckett in a wrongful termination suit. The two men must navigate the complexities of the legal system and their own personal biases as they prepare to take on the firm that fired Beckett.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Andrew Beckett, a senior associate at a Philadelphia law firm, is fired after his partners notice his AIDS-related symptoms. He seeks legal counsel from Joe Miller, a personal injury attorney who initially refuses the case due to prejudice but eventually agrees to represent him. During the trial, the firm's partners claim Beckett was incompetent. To counter this, Miller has Beckett reveal his physical symptoms on the stand. During the proceedings, Beckett collapses and is hospitalized. While he is in the hospital, the jury deliberates and ultimately awards him over $5 million in damages. Following the verdict, Miller visits a frail Beckett in the hospital, and the film concludes with a memorial service for Beckett, where the men share a moment of connection.
- First release year
- 1993
- Runtime (minutes)
- 125
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Jonathan Demme
- Writers
- Ron Nyswaner · writer
- Cast and characters
- Tom Hanks · Andrew Beckett; Denzel Washington · Joe Miller; Jason Robards; Mary Steenburgen; Antonio Banderas; Joanne Woodward
- Genres
- drama; legal drama
- Themes
- HIV/AIDS; homophobia; discrimination; prejudice
- Tone and mood
- serious; poignant
- Setting
- Philadelphia in the early 1990s
- Premise and plot tags
- legal drama; courtroom drama; medical drama
- Source material / true-story basis
- Based on newspaper clippings and articles on the subject of AIDS
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 81% · scale: percentage · review count: 64; Metacritic · score: 66 · scale: 100 · review count: 21
- Awards and nominations
- Best Actor · Academy Awards · win; Best Original Song · Academy Awards · win; Best Original Screenplay · Academy Awards · nomination
- Production trivia
- The film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 2025.; The film was the first Hollywood big-budget, big-star film to tackle the issue of AIDS in the United States.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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