It's a scene that has always led the way to leave me flooded with tears, but weirdly enough, I've experienced new things today that I haven't in the past. Thinking about it now, it was like I was able to look at each detail of this scene more carefully, picking up more nuanced elements on the camera movement, the body language, the cut between close-ups and wides, the whole cinematic language being used was just talking differently to me this time, that tears came out in places that they didn't use to before.
The moment in which Andrew Beckett, played by Tom Hanks, goes to Joe Miller's office, desperately seeking representation against an act of discrimination over his AIDS illness.
Jonathan Demme, a master of his craft, directed this scene superbly... offering some really intimate close-up shots to really deliver on emotions of frustration, fear, disappointment, and sadness.
The music, which subtlety echoes in the background, just enough to enhance the drama unfolding before our eyes, is a lovely detailed touch that elevates the scene.
Each beat given between shots is carefully executed to allow for moments of tension to grow, while the audience takes its time to look at the body language, and the space between both characters... particularly as it sets up an obvious reflection of the panic that AIDS caused in the early 90s, seen back then as an infectious deadly decease, with some deep association to the gay community, leading to a horrible social divide and a dangerous stigma that took years to repair.
Despite having seen this movie so many times, it's impossible for me to be indifferent.
Instead, as I proved to myself just now, I feel increasingly sad and outraged by each viewing.
Witnessing social injustice truly moves me to my core and here you have a perfect illustration of just how cold and passive the world could (and can) be.
The scene here on this particular YouTube clip ends just before one of my favourite acting moments of the movie when Beckett leaves the office and Demme goes for a slow close-up to the sound of Bruce Springsteen's beautifully moving and Oscar-winning song "Streets of Philadelphia".
This particular moment, alongside the iconic "opera scene" (where Hanks and Washington are rehearsing the Q&A as they listen to "La Mamma Morta", sung by the majestic Maria Callas), is my absolute standout moment in all of movie-making history.
In both scenes, Hanks' acting is absolutely unmatched, to the point that you forget there's any "craft" behind each moment.
I have never seen more commitment, done full-hardheartedly, than here.
If you haven't seen Philadelphia, please watch it. It may not resonate the same way it did with me (it sits on my top 5 of all time), but Hanks' performance is undeniably one of the greatest we've ever seen in our lifetime.
NOTE
Here's a clip with the rest of the scene I've mentioned.
(I loved it so much that I even got the same cap he has as a little memento of the movie and my appreciation for that city.)
