The Normal Heart (2014)

About The Normal Heart

"The Normal Heart" is a drama film directed by Ryan Murphy based on Larry Kramer's play of the same name. The film portrays the fear and frustration faced by the gay community in the early 1980s due to the HIV-AIDS crisis. The movie revolves around Ned Weeks, a gay activist, who tries to mobilize the community to fight against the disease and the indifference of the public towards it. The film perfectly captures the ignorance, fear, struggle, and love experienced during this time.

Making / Production

The film was directed by Ryan Murphy with a screenplay by Larry Kramer, based on his own 1985 play of the same name. HBO Films was the production company behind the film, with prominent producers including Ryan Murphy, Jason Blum, and Brad Pitt. The film was shot over a period of 40 days in New York City.

Actors

• Mark Ruffalo as Ned Weeks - Played the role of a passionate and outspoken activist who fights for the cause and displays a wide range of emotions with great skill.
• Matt Bomer as Felix Turner - Portrays a New York Times writer who becomes Ned's lover. He depicts the physical and emotional effects of the disease brilliantly.
• Julia Roberts as Dr. Emma Brookner - Plays a physician committed to her patients, showing an impressive balancing act between tough love and deep empathy.
• Taylor Kitsch as Bruce Niles - A closeted Wall Street broker who becomes a leader of the Gay Men's Health Crisis, proving his acting versatility.

Trivia

• The film is based on a true story and the real-life experiences of Larry Kramer who is also the original playwright and screenplay writer.
• The original play opened off-Broadway on April 21, 1985, and it was critical in advocating for response to HIV-AIDS.
• Mark Ruffalo and Matt Bomer both lost weight to convincingly portray the physical decline due to AIDS.

Awards

The film received widespread acclaim and was nominated for numerous awards, including the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie. Among many wins, Mark Ruffalo won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie, and the film won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Movie/Miniseries.

Quotes

• "We are not dirty, Mr. Mayor! Our love is not dirty!" - Ned Weeks
• "I belong to a culture that includes Proust, Henry James, Tchaikovsky, Cole Porter, Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, Alexander the Great, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Christopher Marlowe, Walt Whitman, Herman Melville, Tennessee Williams, Byron, E.M. Forster, Lorca, Auden, Francis Bacon, James Baldwin, Harry Stack Sullivan, John Maynard Keynes, Dag Hammarskjold." - Ned Weeks
• "AIDS is a test of who we are as a people." - Dr. Emma Brookner

Music, Soundtrack

• The soundtrack was composed by Cliff Martinez, known for his evocative and atmospheric themes.
• The song "The Last Song" by Elton John, is featured in the film, which Elton wrote about a friend who passed away due to AIDS.