Philadelphia

[gerbie]

Fell into the movie last night on television, just after the beginning, as Hanks was still looking for someone to represent him in the case he was trying to start against his former firm. Great movie, even if you see it for the second time. I can remember watching it with tears in my eyes the first time around, even know I was close to be that moved again. Somehow a victory of David against Goliath is always worth watching. In sports, a cup tie from a small team against a big money team, in politics, where some small groups have got more influence than other major parties, in business, if someone with a great idea beats a multinational.

All the praise Hanks got for his movie is well deserved. The details, the hours in make up, they make it scarily real. But the real achievement to me was Denzel Washington. Hanks overshadowed his role, but he plays a brilliant character here. From the homophobic scared lawyer in the beginning, to the great solicitor in court, asking key witnesses weird questions, involving politics in the trial, not losing the human aspect out of sight. He did it all brilliantly. If somehow you have managed to miss this movie, go and hire it.