I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

It is impossible to depict a historical event like this, where homosexuals rights where so ignored, in a more balanced view. No guilt can be divided. We know that society did not live up to it's responsibility and reacted too slowly as the virus spread and that this showed an underlying aversion against gay people. Many died an unnecessary and painful death.Ned (Mark Ruffalo) fights his cause against AIDS and in doing so is confronted with one idiot after another throughout two whole hours. He does so screaming, shouting, crying and begging to a point where I lost my interest. Representants from the government etc. are stereotyped big clowns and fifteen minutes into the movie you have figured this out. There are those that don't have the guts to fight, those who are indifferent and those who think that gay people are getting what they deserve.Don't get me wrong. My sympathy is undivided but I would have loved to become more challenged or shown some aspects of this period that I didn't know of watching the movie.To spice the story up you have the tragic love story and a heroic Julia Roberts in a wheelchair fighting side by side with our minority group./Simon

The privileged may see this story as a triumph, but for the the poor, minorities and such, it's nearly completely inaccessible. The roles include the powerful, or at least are connected to the powerful. They are upwardly mobile, or they are overachievers. In any case, the gay characters' primary sorrows are medical. Gather a group of white heterosexuals debating vulnerability to, say, any venereal disease and you have an analogue to this movie. While the performances are compelling (with myopic social relevance) they refuse to engage the complexities of those who are excluded because of education, economic, or racial difference.. There is none of the cultural communication awkwardness that freights and slows conversations when classes interact. Would this movie have even been produced before 2020 if the players were African American, Latino, or white underclass? Perhaps, but only at a small-budget independent film level.

I watched The Normal Heart on a rare rainy day in Los Angeles. It took me back to the time when I was in my late twenties and the world first started hearing about "the gay cancer" that was later known as AIDS. It is shocking to remember that it took four years until the President would even address the subject -- a virus that has now killed millions. This film is brilliant, well written and well acted. Mark Ruffalo turns in another heart felt brilliant performance. All of the acting in the movie is wonderful. Kudos to all of those brave people who fought to get mainstream attention and funding for AIDS, and for those who fought and still fight for treatment. I have known twenty people who have passed as a result of the virus. The most recent was a dearly loved neighbor three years ago. God bless them and all those on the front lines. Thanks to the producers Mark Ruffalo and Brad Pitt.

It's 1981 and gay men are enjoying their sexual freedom. Only more and more of them are dying. Nobody knows what the cause is. Ned Weeks (Mark Ruffalo) is a writer. Ben (Alfred Molina) is his brother. Dr. Emma Brookner (Julia Roberts) is advocating for gay men to stop having sex. Felix Turner (Matt Bomer) is the NY Times writer who usually does fluff pieces. Bruce Niles (Taylor Kitsch) and Tommy Boatwright (Jim Parsons) are some of the people in the gay community.The first 30 minutes is more thrilling and more compelling than any overblown action. The scenes of people trying to figure out what to do are the best. It's exciting. It's also scary like a horror movie. The romance between Weeks and Turner is the weakest part of the movie. There is a big epidemic and the love story diminishes it. For some reason, I'm reminded of Michael Bay's Pearl Habor. The world is changing and I rather have the movie concentrate on the war, not the romance. I get more from Ned and his brother. I understand where they're going with the romance but it feels more like a waste of time. There are so many great scenes with great acting. Joe Mantello explodes on the screen. Taylor Kitsch retells an incredibly touching story. Julia Roberts overdoes it a little. Overall, there is a lot of great acting in a compelling historical drama.