It's 1981 in New York City and gay men are enjoying a sexual freedom and openness that they've never had before. But then they start dying in large numbers from an unknown disease known as the "gay cancer". It's taken almost 30 years for Larry Kramer's incendiary play to reach the screen (Barbra Streisand tried unsuccessfully to make a film of it for years) and while one might say better late than never, in fact, perhaps it's just as well for we might not have gotten a production of it as good as this. Directed by Ryan Murphy from Kramer's own screenplay, it's a surprisingly fluid film which belies its theatrical origins. The film thoroughly captures the 80s gay scene in all its excess, it doesn't attempt to clean it up for mainstream consumption nor is it apologetic. The performances are superb across the board but it's Mark Ruffalo who anchors the film, perfectly embodying the seething anger, flaws and all (the film doesn't hide that he can be a major jerk and his own worst enemy) of a man screaming against the indifference of a complacent society and government. All the actors get their turn in the spotlight and do themselves proud: Matt Bomer as Ruffalo's boyfriend, Joe Mantello as a frightened NYC employee, Taylor Kitsch as an ex-Green Beret and Julia Roberts as a wheelchair bound doctor fighting to be heard in both the gay community and by government sources ... and getting a deaf ear from both. With Jim Parsons, Alfred Molina, Dennis O'Hare, BD Wong and Danielle Ferland.
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