Honestly not a good movie
Two great performances, but the writing, dialogue and motivations were very poor.
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MovieChat Forums > Philadelphia (1994) Discussion > Honestly not a good movie
I agree with your comment about the lead actors. The problem with any movie that depicts victimization is that it runs the risk of becoming an advocacy for the victimized. Directors are only human. In the months that it takes to realise a complete movie they may be influenced by the subject matter. A good director should rise above that influence and present an impartial work. Unless, of course, an advocacy was his/her intention in the first place.
Like yourself, I was disappointed because the other technical issues you raise such as script, do have the appearance of a rather clumsy advocacy, endorsing the prevalent politically-correct themes. It reminds me of `The Rainmaker'. That's another legal/victim work which has a secondary story of domestic violence. And here again, the director has cow-towed to political-correctness by endorsing the stereotypic feminist-driven propaganda that victims are invariably female. Script, charcters and plot are all predicated to emphasise this bogus but now almost universal myth.
It is often said that a good book is one which makes the reader think. Such a test could equally apply to movies, especially as many are inspired by books. This website clearly shows that many have been moved to think, and therefore - notwithstanding its technical merits or the polarization of opinion - the movie might be considered to be a good one. Though more by default than technique.
I agree somewhat--it was pretty good, but more because it was groundbreaking than really a stellar film. One thing that bothered me was his absolutely perfect family--I didn't think they added anything to the film and were so sweet it made my teeth hurt.
shareThis movie will probably eventually be looked at the same way Guess Who's Coming to Dinner is now. That movie has a lot of the same familial qualities, in addition to being all about prejudice. It's very of the time socially.
shareI disagree. I'm 24 and so I didn't see 'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner' or 'Philadelphia' when they were released. I saw the former about a year ago for the first time, and the latter a few days ago.
'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner' is one of my favourite films of all time. I have seen it again since to make sure that my initial reaction was accurate. The themes are still relevant: look at the proportion of interracial couples compared to same race couples. According to statistics that I have seen recently, over 50% of white women are not willing to marry someone of another race while other races are far more willing. Beyond that, Sidney Poitier was born for his role and his speech to his father is a brilliant scene. I don't think it's outdated at all.
'Philadelphia,' on the other hand, deals with the social stigma of gays and AIDS sufferers. While I've never met anyone who I've known to have AIDS, I've met many gays as I'm sure everyone in my generation and younger has. No one is told that AIDS patients are persona non grata anymore because science has disproved the prevalent myths around the time of the film. Now unfortunately it is impossible for me to rate the film in the context of its release, but for now, I feel it is vastly overrated and is far too preachy for my taste.
"We played with life and lost." - Jules et Jim, François Truffaut.
Now unfortunately it is impossible for me to rate the film in the context of its release, but for now, I feel it is vastly overrated and is far too preachy for my taste.Well, there you have it. At the time it was a very socially relevant film. And this wouldn't be the first time that a film is incredibly socially relevant for its time but not 20 years down the road.
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This is exactly where the film went wrong ("absolutely perfect family")..did they have to be so damn gooey?
shareIf you look at the film as entertainment, it's a damn good film with a lot of strong acting and rather good direction.
The opera scene is just amazing, I also think it has some pretty good dialogue for the most part.
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I think the motivations for you argument are poor.
shareI enjoyed it.
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