Longtime Companion (1989)

“What do you think happens when we die? ” – Fuzzy

Number of Times Seen – 2 (27 Aug 2000 and 9 Jun 2016)

Brief Synopsis – A group of gay friends deal with the emergence of the AIDS epidemic during the 1980’s.

My Take on it – It’s quite interesting that this movie came out when it did.

Not much was really known about the AIDS virus in 1989 compared to later years and it was quite a task for them to make a movie like this with the lesser information at the time.

The result though was worthwhile because the movie is a very moving portrayal of how gay men in the 80’s dealt with the rising epidemic among their numbers.

The cast is superb.  Campbell Scott, Patrick Cassidy, Mary-Louise Parker, Bruce Davison, Mark Lamos, Dermot Mulroney, Stephen Caffrey and Michael Schoeffling (yes, he was in other movies besides his Sixteen Candles (1984) fame) are all great here.

Davison is perfect here and very deserving won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Oscar for his role.

The problem with this movie is that they try too hard to deal with so many stories and information at once and a with storyline that takes place over the period of nearly a decade,  some of the scenes feel too short or choppy.

Perhaps, had they made this film a bit longer than its 100 minutes, it would have been even better.

I loved how many scenes dealt with emotions based solely on looks or actions of the character.  A great example is the bathroom scene in the hospital room.

Bottom Line – Very moving portrayal of how the outbreak of AIDS was perceived by the gay community during the 1980’s. Amazing cast helps make this even more powerful.  The fact that the movie tries to deal with so much over a long period of time makes some of the scenes feel a bit choppy.  It would have been even better had it been longer. Davison is superb and deserved his Golden Globe win for this film. Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – The title refers to the only way that newspapers at the time would allow a gay man’s lover to be listed in an obituary (From IMDB)

Rating – Globe Worthy

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