Coming out of retirement to review this hugely disappointing movie. Philadelphia is the equivalent of Schindler's List if it were directed by Michael Bay. In other words, it missed the damn point. As the story of a talented lawyer, wrongfully terminated because he has AIDS, it would seem extremely rich with thematic material. Unfortunately, the director focuses so much on the wrong aspects, specifically Denzel Washington's boring character arc and quasi path to enlightenment. The best directors know that with heavy drama you either get out of the way (like Clint Eastwood) or you elevate the drama through artistry (like Alfonso Cuaron). Unfortunately, Demme simply isn't talented enough to elevate the material and obviously cannot direct actors because every..single..character feels so hollow, so stiff, so one dimensional. Good guys are good (and love opera) bad guys are bad (and love money) and that's basically the only two buckets that exist in this alternate universe. The negative stereotypes of LGBTQ society run deep and become self limiting, forcing Hanks and Banderes (the best actor in the movie by far) into boxes they can't stretch out of. Even the court room drama is so reductionist that it's insulting to the audience. I guess Demme was riding high off of Silence of the Lambs and was given a free pass on this one. So much potential wasted by a director who chose narrow zeitgeist over timelessness.