The Normal Heart (2014)

A gay activist attempts to raise H.I.V. and A.I.D.S. awareness during the early 1980s.

Director:

Ryan Murphy

Writers:

Larry Kramer (screenplay), Larry Kramer (play)

Stars:

Mark Ruffalo, Jonathan Groff, Frank De Julio

Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 28 wins & 55 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mark Ruffalo	...	Ned Weeks
Jonathan Groff	...	Craig
Frank De Julio	...	Nick
William DeMeritt	...	Nino
Taylor Kitsch	...	Bruce Niles
Joe Mantello	...	Mickey Marcus
Sean Meehan	...	Morton
Stephen Spinella	...	Sanford
Jill Melanie Wirth	...	Receptionist
BD Wong	...	Buzzy
Julia Roberts	...	Dr. Emma Brookner
Jim Parsons	...	Tommy Boatwright
Adam B. Shapiro	...	Bella (as Adam Shapiro)
John Mainieri	...	John
Matt Bomer	...	Felix Turner

Storyline

The story of the onset of the HIV-AIDS crisis in New York City in the early 1980s, taking an unflinching look at the nation's sexual politics as gay activists and their allies in the medical community fight to expose the truth about the burgeoning epidemic to a city and nation in denial.

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Plot Keywords:

gay | gay men's health crisis | hiv | aids epidemic | new york city | 

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Taglines:

To win a war, you have to start one.

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Genres:

Drama | History | Romance

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Did You Know?

Trivia

The title of the play and the movie comes from a line in W.H. Auden's poem "September 1, 1939".

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Goofs

The clock tower seen across the Hudson River (in Hoboken, NJ) was not standing in the early 80s when the film's story took place. It was demolished in the 50s and rebuilt in 2007.

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Quotes

Ned Weeks: I belong to a culture that includes Marcel Proust, Walt Whitman, Tennessee Williams, Alexander the Great, so many popes and cardinals you wouldn't believe. Mr. Green Beret, did you know that it was an openly gay Englishman who's responsible for winning World War II? His name's Alan Turing and he cracked the Germans' Enigma code. After the war was over, he committed suicide because he was so hounded for being gay. Why didn't they teach any of that in schools? A gay man is responsible for winning...

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Connections

Referenced in Face Off: The Gatekeepers (2015)

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Soundtracks

Happy Birthday to You
Written by Mildred J. Hill (as Mildred Hill), Patty S. Hill (as Patty Hill)

User Reviews

"We are all walking time-bombs..."

Heart-rending, gut-wrenching adaptation by Larry Kramer of his own successful play about the foundation and formation in 1982 of the Gay Men's Health Crisis in New York City in the wake of what was then-called the Gay Cancer (now HIV/AIDS). Dramatization of events, with Mark Ruffalo's screenwriter Ned Weeks substituting for Kramer, is necessarily a no-holds-barred examination of gay sex in the '80s and its consequences, with the gay community themselves their own worst enemy (by being asked to abstain in the wake of more information on the disease, they felt oppressed as a modern culture and rebelled). In spite of an agonizingly long gestation period for this material (which Barbra Streisand optioned years ago, but was unable to finance), director Ryan Murphy has crafted an immediate and powerful document, alternately angry, sexy, tough, moving and thoughtful. Though "Longtime Companion" and the cable-film "And The Band Played On" have covered the AIDS epidemic (and done it extremely well), that does not lessen the impact of this HBO film, which packs an emotional wallop. Performances from Ruffalo, Julia Roberts, Alfred Molina, Matt Bomer, Jim Parsons and the entire cast are superlative.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 May 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Normal Heart

Filming Locations:

New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

HBO Films, Plan B Entertainment, Blumhouse Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

132 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White (archive material) Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1