About 3 years ago I found myself in the DC area to see the sights and watch The Dark Knight Rises with a good friend. As I found myself searching for things to do while on this trip I stumbled upon the Arena Stage website and saw that they would be performing The Normal Heart, a play that had just recently won a revival Tony and something I’d been mad was sold out when I went to NYC the previous summer. I had to buy tickets in the upper deck but I wanted to see the play so badly. I had some idea that the play was about AIDS and in being so, might be a tough sit. What I was not prepared for was one of the most visceral, transformative experiences I’ve ever had in the theater. I cried several times and for me at that point in my life was a feat (the tears flow more freely now that I’ve gotten into film school lol). The play was so angry and vibrant that it both drew you in and slapped you around, and I can honestly say it might be my favorite play I’ve had the opportunity to see live.
I say all of this to preface this review because I have such a love for the source material that I was unsure how the movie would go. The Normal Heart, written by Larry Kramer, in the hands of Ryan Murphy seemed like it would be either a match made in big broad strokes with interesting characters heaven or hamfisted, overwrought hell. I mean both men have the same problems in terms of how they deliver material, how could the movie work? Well I am glad to inform folks who maybe haven’t seen it, or just want to know my opinion, that The Normal Heart is a faithful and well made adaptation. Sure there are some issues I have with the movie, but I’ll be damned if you find a movie this earnest and bubbling over with misplaced anger, wonderful emotional content, and excellent acting like you’ll find in this film.
Ryan Murphy has a style all his own and it’s apparent the second the movie starts off in Fire Island (a change from the play) and we get full frontal nudity, men shaving their chests outdoors like there isn’t a care in the world and Mark Ruffalo saying he “loves his teddy” in reference to his chest hair. From there, I knew we would certainly be in for an experience, whether good or not. It was mostly rough for the first third as Murphy was using his trade mark editing style of cuteness for the sake of “speeding” things up or just to be showy. But then something happened after a character died, he began to trust the material, the actors, the setting, everything began a march towards the cry fest this movie became for me. Murphy was even smart enough to know when to get out of his own way and let the actors handle the heavy lifting, especially those epic speeches near the end.
Speaking of speeches, Larry Kramer adapted his own play for the screen and I am pretty happy with the job he did. It couldn’t have been easy to bring this to the screen, after all, it’s based on his own life and experience. Being told pieces don’t work or having to rearrange things isn’t an easy task. Kramer manages to do this without sacrificing any of the power of the piece. More importantly, he opens the play up considerably but not too much that it doesn’t feel local. Though this is a movie about a widespread epidemic, it is first and foremost about characters, and Kramer gives everyone their moment. I was particularly struck by how much supporting players like Bruce Niles and Tommy Boatwright flourished in the new adaptation and how wonderfully fun the early scenes with Ned and Felix are, before things turn to ash.
This might be just by virtue of the sheer acting might employed by everyone in this movie. Mark Ruffalo will probably get a lionshare of the awards attention, and he certainly gives a good performance. I loved how starry it was, meaning that while he adopts some of Kramer’s mannerisms, he’s never at any point not Mark Ruffalo. That kind of nature grace in parts is a gift which he uses well. He’s partnered with Matt Bomer, an actor so inhumanly beautiful it was initially hard for me to buy him in this part. But man does Bomer’s easy nature on screen really work when paired with Ruffalo’s intensity. When these two had that food fight? Chile listen. And those scenes where they were in bed post coitus? Marvelous acting all around.
But this movie really belongs to two men, Jim Parsons and Taylor Kitsch. Parsons, an Emmy winner for his work on The Big Bang Theory, is no stranger to delivering a good performance but his work as Tommy Boatwright is immaculate. That character is so inherently extra that the translation to the screen could have easily gone awry. But Parsons grounds the character in reality, getting the nuances just right, that he’s a wonder to watch. That eulogy speech at the memorial didn’t strike me that much on stage but whew is it a knockout on screen thanks to Parsons. MVP honors go to Mr. Taylor Kitsch, an actor who has been unfairly maligned due to two blockbuster bombs, but my word does he make up for them with this performance. Playing the closeted gay in the mix of the out gays could have undone him right from the start, but he is so sure of himself in this part, just losing himself to the words on the page. You can feel his character’s freeness and the constriction he feels as his lovers die. There’s two big scenes in the bars for the character that Kitsch just lays into with relish and wows with each passing moment.
Alfred Molina was also quite good as Ned’s brother and Julia Roberts aced the fuck out of her big monologue.
I really can’t say enough good things about The Normal Heart and you owe it to yourself to watch. If you enjoyed this movie, or even if you didn’t, I implore you to check out the documentary How to Survive a Plague, which makes for a great double feature with this flick.