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Philadelphia

Philadelphia

Drama · 1993

Two competing lawyers join forces to sue a prestigious law firm for AIDS discrimination. As their unlikely friendship develops, their courage overcomes the prejudice and corruption of their powerful adversaries.

Movie details

Philadelphia

“No one would take on his case... until one man was willing to take on the system.”

1993 Drama 2h 6m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

7.7 / 10

272.7K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

81 %

Tomatometer

Metacritic

66 / 100

Metascore

TMDB

7.7 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

Two competing lawyers join forces to sue a prestigious law firm for AIDS discrimination. As their unlikely friendship develops, their courage overcomes the prejudice and corruption of their powerful adversaries.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Philadelphia?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Jared, the son of a Baptist pastor in a small American town, is outed to his parents at age 19. Jared is faced with an ultimatum: attend a gay conversion therapy program – or be permanently exiled and shunned by his family, friends, and faith.

Buddies

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David, a naive graduate student, has volunteered to work as a 'buddy' for people dying of AIDS. Assigned to the intensely political Robert, a lifelong activist whose friends and family have abandoned him following his diagnosis, the two men, each with notably different world views, soon discover common bonds, as David's inner activist awakens and Robert's need for emotional release is fulfilled.

The Children Act

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tick, tick... BOOM!

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On the brink of turning 30, a promising theater composer navigates love, friendship and the pressure to create something great before time runs out.

It's My Party

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Just Mercy

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The powerful true story of Harvard-educated lawyer Bryan Stevenson, who goes to Alabama to defend the disenfranchised and wrongly condemned — including Walter McMillian, a man sentenced to death despite evidence proving his innocence. Bryan fights tirelessly for Walter with the system stacked against them.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Jonathan Demme

Written by

Ron Nyswaner

Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks

Andrew Beckett

Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington

Joe Miller

Jason Robards

Jason Robards

Charles Wheeler

Mary Steenburgen

Mary Steenburgen

Belinda Conine

Antonio Banderas

Antonio Banderas

Miguel Alvarez

Ron Vawter

Ron Vawter

Bob Seidman

Robert Ridgely

Robert Ridgely

Walter Kenton

Court is in session

Put Philadelphia on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.