I knew that watching The Normal Heart wouldnt exactly be a laugh riot, but I was really not prepared for that level of intensity. The first half hour is a bit odd, but once it hits its stride, its one of the most effective biopics Ive seen. More than anything, its a horror film, which makes sense coming from American Horror Storys Ryan Murphy. But what he does so well in that show is ten times better here, where the terror isnt about symbolism or metaphor, but a real disease and the actual monsters who allowed it to breed unchecked for so long. Theres a stretch in the middle where I cried for about 20 minutes straight. At the end of this grueling section I grabbed Jacks hand and said, Were so lucky, which might sound like a rather self-involved bit of introspection after something so moving. But its true. A lot of people paved the way with their own lives so that we can even talk about things like gay marriage & trans-rights, let alone RuPauls Drag Race & Conchita Wurst, conversations about issues and people that wouldve been unimaginable on a national scale 30 years ago. The Normal Heart reminded me that culture didnt just randomly and humanely shift in the minoritys favor. There are people, heroes really, who died specifically for people like me; people who cried and marched and screamed in the streets to simply live; people who arent here today to plan legally recognized unions to the ones they cared for most. I guess what Im saying is its really not luck at all. Thank you. Wish you were all here.
Posted on: Tue, 27 May 2014 17:24:49 +0000
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