NORMAL HEART, THE (TV)
Summary
This made-for-television film is based on the 1985 stage play by Larry Kramer about the early days of the HIV/AIDS crisis in New York City.
The story begins in 1981 as writer Ned Weeks arrives on Fire Island and greets his friends Bruce Niles and Mickey Marcus, though many other guests are less pleased to see him because of a scathing satirical novel he wrote about gay culture. Bruce's boyfriend Craig celebrates a birthday, and on the way home Ned reads in the newspaper about a strange "gay cancer." Ned runs into a friend, Sanford, at the office of Dr. Emma Brookner, a no-nonsense polio survivor who explains that she is seeing many more cases of the unexplained disease, which seems to be related to sex. She urges Ned to use his "big mouth" to tell gay men to abstain, though he dismisses the idea of being a leader. Bruce and Mickey suddenly arrive with a desperately ill Craig, who dies shortly thereafter. Ned holds a meeting at his apartment and Emma urges the men to "cool it for a while," but they declare that she has no solid evidence linking the illness to intercourse. Ned then heads to the New York Times offices and meets handsome journalist Felix Turner, though Felix is reluctant to get involved with the cause.
Ned, Bruce, and the others hold a memorial for Craig, and Ned visits with his lawyer brother Ben and asks him to lend his services to the cause. Ben explains that he must consult his firm's committee. Emma tells Ned that many hospital workers are refusing to treat the "GRID" patients for fear of catching it, and Ned finds Sanford in terrible condition. Felix dines at Ned's home and Ned nervously rambles about society's willful blindness during the Holocaust. Felix surprises him by revealing that they actually met once before at a bathhouse. They decide to "start over" and spend the evening in bed, realizing that they share a meaningful bond. Ned is rebuffed when he attempts to confront Mayor Ed Koch, and he retaliates by writing several fiery articles on the subject. The much more likable Bruce is elected president of their group, the Gay Men's Health Crisis, and they send out invitations for a fundraising dance. Bruce grows nervous when his new lover Albert shows signs of illness, and Ned cares for him after a night of heavy drinking. He realizes that his own longtime crush on Bruce has vanished because of his love for Felix. At the dance, Bruce announces that they have raised $53,000, and Ned is elated when Felix happily agrees to move in with him.
Ned continues his aggressive activism and declares on television that the government is purposefully ignoring the "plague. " Bruce and the other group members are angered that he is speaking for them in such a manner, particularly when he cites the common rumor that Mayor Koch is also gay. Ben tells Ned that the gay community has "a terrible image problem," and Ned is furious to realize that his brother still believes him to be "sick" and rages that they will not speak again until Ben regards him as an equal. GMHC member Tommy Boatwright comforts a woman, Estelle, devastated by the death of her best friend and desperate to help with the fight; Bruce is outraged when Ned calls TV cameras to their headquarters, stating that they are "doomed if they do it his way." Ned continues working even while on vacation with Felix, and Felix reveals that he was once married and has a son. Ned immediately accuses him of not fighting for his parental rights, but is stunned when Felix reveals a lesion on his foot, meaning that he, too, is sick.
Over dinner, Emma tells Ned about being stricken with polio as a child and "scaring" people with her determination, as he does, and he admits that his group's efforts are not enough. After fourteen months of requests, the group is finally granted a brief meeting with the mayor's assistant, Hiram Keebler, but he avoids offering any definitive help, calling the situation "very tricky." Ned is outraged by the lack of action, and Mickey is stunned when Hiram threatens his government job. Tommy speaks at the funeral of another friend, Nick, stating that they are "losing an entire generation" and concluding that they are being ignored because the authorities "just don't like us." Felix tells Emma that he intends to beat his illness, though worries that he may have infected Ned; he deteriorates in an unpredictable "see-saw" fashion as Ned steadfastly cares for him. While working on the crisis hotline, Mickey begins to break down about feeling "inadequate" because of their profound lack of factual knowledge about the disease. He rambles that the crisis is destroying their hard-earned right to "love openly" and admits that he has been feeling suicidal. Tommy tends to him, telling him that he is a hero, but Bruce then reveals that the mayor has finally offered them a paltry $9,000 out of a "secret" fund. He reveals to Ned that Albert died a gruesome death on the way to visit his mother in Phoenix, describing how his body was treated with great disrespect by the hospital and the undertaker.
Felix worsens and enters the hospital, though he remains determined to accompany Ned on a trip to his alma mater of Yale. Emma finally presents her findings to a government panel, but they call her research "imprecise and unfocused" and reject her application for funding; she explodes with anger at their lack of action and interest. Ned is thrilled to receive a call from the White House, but the official with whom he meets seems more concerned about the threat to the straight community than about actual research. Felix sinks into despair and Ned berates him for not fighting harder, but they quickly make up. Ned then learns that Bruce and Tommy are meeting with Koch without him, and Bruce reads out a devastating statement declaring that Ned has been kicked out of the group for actively harming the cause with his tactics. Felix arrives at Ben's office and introduces himself, explaining that he wants to write up a new will leaving his possessions to Ned, and Ned reunites with Ben at the hospital. Emma officiates at Ned and Felix's impromptu deathbed wedding ceremony, and Tommy soon gets the call that yet another friend has died. Ned heads to Yale alone, sadly observing the students celebrating Gay Week. The film closes by explaining that President Ronald Reagan finally spoke out about AIDS in 1985, though the research was very slow-going and the disease still affects millions today.
Details
- NETWORK: HBO
- DATE: May 25, 2014 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 2:15:00
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 115562
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama; HIV/AIDS; Activists; LGBT Collection
- SERIES RUN: HBO - TV, 2014
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Ryan Murphy … Executive Producer, Director
- Dante Di Loreto … Executive Producer
- Jason Blum … Executive Producer
- Brad Pitt … Executive Producer
- Dede Gardner … Executive Producer
- Mark Ruffalo … Co-Executive Producer
- Scott Ferguson … Producer
- Alexis Martin Woodall … Producer
- Gina Lamar … Co-Producer
- Ned Martel … Associate Producer
- Allyse Manoff … Digital Producer
- John Bair … Visual Effects Executive Producer
- Vivian Connolly … Visual Effects Executive Producer
- Larry Detwiler … Visual Effects Executive Producer
- Renuka Ballal … Visual Effects Producer
- Jason Sax … Visual Effects Producer
- Larry Kramer … Writer
- Cliff Martinez … Music by
- Mark Ruffalo … Cast, Ned Weeks
- Matt Bomer … Cast, Felix Turner
- Taylor Kitsch … Cast, Bruce Niles
- Jim Parsons … Cast, Tommy Boatwright
- Alfred Molina … Cast, Ben Weeks
- Julia Roberts … Cast, Dr. Emma Brookner
- Joe Mantello … Cast, Mickey Marcus
- BD Wong … Cast, Buzzy
- Jonathan Groff … Cast, Craig
- Stephen Spinella … Cast, Sanford
- Finn Wittrock … Cast, Albert
- Denis O'Hare … Cast, Hiram Keebler
- Corel Stoll … Cast, John Bruno
- Frank de Julio … Cast, Nick
- William Demeritt … Cast, Nino
- Sean Meehan … Cast, Morton
- Adam Shapiro … Cast, Bella Boggs
- John Mainieri … Cast, John
- Will Bradley … Cast, Mario
- Corey Brill … Cast, Henry
- Armand Schultz … Cast, Dick Lombardo
- Rebecca Watson … Cast, Sarabeth Clare
- Greg Adair … Cast, Malcolm Murphy
- Danielle Ferlano … Cast, Estelle
- Wenne Alton Davis … Cast, Gloria
- Richard Prioleau … Cast, Phil
- Patrick Woodall … Cast, Grady
- Brett Glazer … Cast, Lenny
- Chris Sullivan … Cast, Mike the Tech
- Catherine Chadwick … Cast, Albert's Mother
- Joe Lanza … Cast, TV Reporter
- Francois Batiste … Cast, Cameraman
- Frank Fortunato … Cast, City Hall Guard
- Jill Melanie Wirth … Cast, Receptionist
- Robert Tunstall … Cast, Man on the Subway
- Irena Bakovic … Cast, Stewardess
- Eden Marryshow … Cast, Orderly
- Scott Johnsen … Cast, Undertaker
- Remy Auberjonois … Cast, Examining Doctor
- Ronald Reagan