De-Lovely
As he is about to die, Porter's life flashes before him in the form of a musical production staged by the archangel Gabriel in the Indiana theater where the composer first performed on stage.
He immediately calls to mind the start of his story - the night he met his wife, Linda Lee Thomas - Paris' latest divorcee and stunning beauty. From the start, they "click" and become a devoted couple. Linda is well aware of Cole's gay identity and activities; her "ex" was the same but violent with her. Cole is completely different, she declares on their wedding day - he loves and adores her and shows it, so she tolerates his dalliances. Her love for and devotion to him are strong enough for her to overlook his romantic flings outside their marriage. With Linda his fun with music turns into a top international career. Their lavish lifestyle is enviable worldwide. At film's end he tells her the songs were all about her - "not all" she corrects - but enough of them. The leaders in music praise his work and his amazing shows begin. Linda begins a tradition for his show opening nights - a Cartier cigarette case custom designed and engraved to commemorate each show, but almost misses one of his openings herself due to miscarriage and they remain childless.
To cheer Linda, the couple move the showbiz, by invitation, to Hollywood. Great excitement, a new extravagant home, but trouble: his flings get too overt and indiscreet and it creates tension. Cole is photographed in an amorous embrace with another man in a public restroom of a gay nightclub, and both he and Linda are blackmailed into paying a heavy settlement to suppress publication of the pictures. When he shrugs off the blackmail, she finally goes to Paris, leaving him bereft.
Not until he is injured in a horseback riding accident that seriously cripples him does she return to his side, willing to forgive but still finding difficulty in coping with his extramarital affairs. Eventually Linda is diagnosed with emphysema, and as she prepares them both for her impending death, she introduces him to her decorator and estate advisor, in an attempt to give Cole a new partner once she's gone. The match is successful.
Linda dies in 1954, and Cole is devastated. But he continues his work until 1958, when degeneration of the bad leg finally requires amputation, affecting his creative output. He never writes again, but works in productions of his earlier works, dying in 1964 at age 73.
romantic, queer, flashback