Summaries

Synopsis

Andrew Beckett (Tom Hanks) is a senior associate at the largest corporate law firm in Philadelphia, Wyant, Charles Wheeler (Jason Robards), Hellerman, Tetlow, and Brown. He hides his homosexuality and his status as an AIDS patient from the other members of the firm. A partner in the firm notices a lesion on Beckett's forehead. Although Beckett attributes the lesion to a racquetball injury, it indicates Kaposi's sarcoma (A purple lesion on the face in multiple locations), an AIDS-defining condition.Dr. Gillman (Karen Finley) is his doctor. Jill Beckett (Ann Dowd) is his sister & Jill's husband (Adam LeFevre).

Shortly thereafter, Beckett stays home from work for several days to try to find a way to hide his lesions. While at home, he finishes the paperwork for a case he has been assigned and then brings it to his office (early in the morning), leaving instructions for his assistant Shelby (Lisa Talerico) to file the paperwork the following day, which marks the end of the statute of limitations for the case.

Then he was in the hospital after he had a pain and vomiting episode at home. Later the next morning, he receives a beep from the office (& he calls back), asking for the paperwork, as the paper copy cannot be found and there are no copies on the computer's hard drive. The paperwork is finally discovered in an alternate location and is filed with the court at the last possible moment. The following day, Beckett is dismissed by the firm's partners (They say he has an attitude problem, and his prospects at the firm are limited).

Beckett believes that someone deliberately hid his paperwork to give the firm an excuse to fire him, and that the dismissal is actually a result of his diagnosis with AIDS as well as his sexuality. He asks ten attorneys to take his case, including African American personal injury lawyer Joe Miller (Denzel Washington), whom Beckett previously opposed in an unrelated case. Miller is also concerned that it was Andrew's obligation to let his firm know about his illness, an infectious one at that.

Miller appears to be worried that he could contract Beckett's illness. After declining to take the case, Miller immediately visits his doctor to find out if he could have contracted the disease. The doctor explains that the routes of HIV infection do not include casual contact. Miller admits to his wife that he is homophobic.

Unable to find a lawyer willing to represent him, Beckett is compelled to act as his own attorney. While researching a case at a law library, Miller sees Beckett at a nearby table. A librarian approaches Beckett and announces that he has found a case on AIDS discrimination for him. As others in the library begin to first stare uneasily, the librarian (Tracey Walter) suggests Beckett go to a private room. Seeing the parallels in how he himself has faced discrimination due to his race (as an African American), Miller approaches Beckett, reviews the material he has gathered (which includes a Supreme Court case that lists AIDS as a handicap and provides protection under the relevant laws as applicable to handicaps at workplace), and takes the case.

As the case goes before the court (7 months later), the partners of the firm take the stand (One of the partners, Bob, wanted to settle out of court, but Charles wanted to punish Andy for bringing AIDS to their office and men's room), each claiming that Beckett was incompetent and that he had deliberately tried to hide his condition. The defense, led by attorney Belinda Conine (Mary Steenburgen), repeatedly suggests that Beckett brought AIDS upon himself by having gay sex, and is therefore not a victim. All of the prosecution witnesses alter their testimony to say Andrew's work was "satisfactory" and not "great" as they had characterized it earlier.

In the course of testimony, it is revealed that the partner who had noticed Beckett's lesion, Walter Kenton (Robert Ridgely), had previously worked with a woman (at his previous law firm) who had contracted AIDS after a blood transfusion and so should have recognized the lesion as relating to AIDS (that woman was not fired from her job). According to Kenton, the woman was an innocent victim, unlike Beckett, and further testified that he did not recognize Beckett's lesions. To prove that the lesions would have been visible, Miller asks Beckett to unbutton his shirt while on the witness stand, revealing that his lesions are indeed visible and recognizable as such.

Belinda also proves that Andrew had gay sex with another man, while he was living with Miguel. He contracted AIDS after that sexual encounter and could have infected Miguel as well.

Over the course of the trial, Miller's homophobia slowly disappears as he and Beckett bond from working together. Miller attends gay parties thrown by Andrew and his partner Miguel. Miller also understands that Andrew knows that he might not survive till the outcome of the trial.

Beckett eventually collapses during the trial and is hospitalized. After this, another partner, Bob Seidman (Ron Vawter), who had also noticed Beckett's lesions, confesses that he suspected Beckett had AIDS but never told anyone and never gave him the opportunity to explain himself, which he regrets very much.

During his hospitalization, the jury votes in Beckett's favor, awarding him back pay, damages for pain and suffering and punitive damages, totaling over $5 million. Miller visits the visibly failing Beckett in the hospital after the verdict and overcomes his fear enough to touch Beckett's face. After the family leaves the room, Beckett tells his partner Miguel Alvarez (Antonio Banderas) that he is "ready." At the Miller home later that night, Miller and his wife Lisa (Lisa Summerour) are awakened by a phone call from Alvarez, who tells them that Beckett has died peacefully.

A memorial is held at Beckett's family home following the funeral, where many mourners, including Miller and his family, view home movies of Beckett as a happy child.