The Normal Heart

Recently, a friend of mine recommended a movie to me called, "The Normal Heart." She didn't tell me much besides the fact that it was a tearjerker. Last night, I found it on Amazon and rented it.
The film -- based on the play of the same name -- tells the story of a gay writer in New York during the AIDS pandemic. It features an all-star cast including: Mark Ruffalo, Matt Bomer, Julia Roberts, Taylor Kitsch, Jim Parsons, and Jonathan Groff.
The original play by Larry Kramer was semi autobiographical; the character of Ned Weeks (Mark Ruffalo) was an alter ego for Kramer, and several characters in the play were based on real people such as Dr. Emma Brookner (Julia Roberts), who was based on Dr. LInda Laubenstein, Tommy Boatwright (Jim Parsons), based off of Rodger McFarlane, and Bruce Niles (Taylor Kitsch), based on Paul Popham.
Dr. Laubenstein is billed as "the woman who discovered AIDS." She was an early researcher of HIV/AIDS and the first to link Kaposi's Sarcoma and AIDS. McFarlane was a gay rights activist who served as the first paid executive director of the GMHC (Gay Men's Health Crisis), later holding leader positions for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Bailey House, and the Gill Foundation. Paul Popham was the founder and President of the GMHC from 1981-1985.

I have seen a few movies set during the AIDS pandemic -- Rent, Holding the Man -- but I was not at all prepared for the graphic depiction in The Normal Heart. Growing up, I was given free reign to pretty much watch whatever I wanted to, and as a result I have become desensitized to a lot of things; few movies can actually shake me to my core. The Normal Heart is one of the few that succeeded.

The film starts innocently enough, with a birthday party for Jonathan Groff's character, where despite his fit, healthy appearance, he can't stifle a cough and ends up collapsing on the beach. Before long, his character is dead and no one knows why. Ned meets with Dr. Brookner and they hold a meeting where Dr. Brookner speculates that HIV/AIDS is transmitted through sexual intercourse and cautions the men to temporarily refrain from sex. The men are upset at the idea and insist that without proof, they're going to keep having sex.
The film chronicles 1981-1984 and as the cases of AIDS rise in number, the GMHC is formed, but their pleas for help from the government are largely ignored, as are Dr. Brookner's medical data on the virus. Ned becomes furious at the government's unwillingness to help -- especially after his lover Felix (Matt Bomer) is diagnosed and begins to waste away -- while the other members of the GMHC try to negotiate peacefully.

​One scene that really knocked the wind out of me was when Ned came home to find that Felix had defecated in their bed, too weak to make it to the toilet. Ned wiped for him and then bathed him. During this scene, purple lesions cover Felix's skeletal back (Matt Bomer lost 40 pounds to look like he was poorly.)

Watching Felix become a hollow husk of the man he once was is a painful experience, especially at the end when he's on his death bed.
The film was a rollercoaster of emotions for me: fear of the HIV virus, uncertain of the future, overwhelming sadness at how many people have died because of it, and anger. Not only anger that (at least in the movie) the gay men were not willing to give up sex -- or practice safe sex -- in order to stay healthy, but blinding rage that the United States government, who's sole purpose is to serve and protect its people -- regardless of gender, race, or sexual orientation -- completely turned its back on the issue for so long. Who knows what advances could have been made had the government helped out more?
But more than anything I felt -- guiltily -- grateful that I don't live in those tumultous times. I'm terrifed enough now of getting HIV, but at least now we know what causes it and how to avoid it. There's even drugs like PrEP to help prevent infection. We have it so much easier and yet still today, it is still a problem. In 2014, 6,721 people died of AIDS in America alone. Also that year, it was the 8th leading cause of death in 25- 34 year olds, and the 9th for those 35 - 44. As of the end of 2015, an estimated 1.1 million people in the United States were infected with HIV, 15 % of which had no idea they were infected.
I know sex is fun, but please, please use protection every time. This is a statistic we can beat if we collectively use our heads. This isn't just a gay disease anymore. In 2015, 8,000 women in the US were diagnosed with HIV. Please practice safe sex and do not under any circumstances share a needle!