This is a miniseries that takes 6 hours. It is too grueling and depressing to watch all of a piece. There are three interwoven stories:
1. the disgusting, greedy, empty life philosophy of Roy Cohn, a real life Washington lawyer and corrupter of government.
2. a young Mormon couple where the husband is a closeted gay and what havoc his secrecy and lies create for everyone.
3. a gay couple about 30 where one partner contracts AIDS and his lover abandons him unable to deal with it.
AIDS dementia and drugs causes some of the characters to hallucinate ghosts and angels in spectacular special effects. These fiery angels don't behave like the gooey "Touched By An Angel" type.
Most of the characters are all incredibly immature and selfish and don't ever seem to learn from their mistakes. They are whiny and self-pitying. Belize, the camp male nurse, and Hannah Pitt, the Mormon mother, gradually shepherd their flock to sanity.
Meryl Streep plays many different roles including one role you would never guess in 1000 years until you see the credits.
As a gay man who has lived with AIDS since 1985, and lost most of my friends to it, much of the dialog did not ring true. I am surprised that Mike Nichols did not ensure it was more authentic. Treat it is a theatrical piece of the imagination rather than a realistic portrayal of what is is like to sicken and die of HIV or how gays relate to each other.
1. the disgusting, greedy, empty life philosophy of Roy Cohn, a real life Washington lawyer and corrupter of government.
2. a young Mormon couple where the husband is a closeted gay and what havoc his secrecy and lies create for everyone.
3. a gay couple about 30 where one partner contracts AIDS and his lover abandons him unable to deal with it.
AIDS dementia and drugs causes some of the characters to hallucinate ghosts and angels in spectacular special effects. These fiery angels don't behave like the gooey "Touched By An Angel" type.
Most of the characters are all incredibly immature and selfish and don't ever seem to learn from their mistakes. They are whiny and self-pitying. Belize, the camp male nurse, and Hannah Pitt, the Mormon mother, gradually shepherd their flock to sanity.
Meryl Streep plays many different roles including one role you would never guess in 1000 years until you see the credits.
As a gay man who has lived with AIDS since 1985, and lost most of my friends to it, much of the dialog did not ring true. I am surprised that Mike Nichols did not ensure it was more authentic. Treat it is a theatrical piece of the imagination rather than a realistic portrayal of what is is like to sicken and die of HIV or how gays relate to each other.