Customer Reviews

Longtime Companion

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am a playwright, a straight forty two year old teacher who writes a lot of pieces about homophobia and aids for my high school students. I must believe that this film, and the play Our Town are the two most influential pieces in my writing life...This probably shouldn't matter to you but it matters to me. Many of my friends think there are better films...but this is such a beautiful work . The acting in it, Bruce Davidson, Mark Lamos, Stephen Caffrey, Mary Louise Parker,....so miraculous, so rich. The movies is heartbreakingly sad, the plague in human terms, but at times, extremely funny. The string quartet of ymca is quite amazing. And I won't give away the last scenes...but...for me, they some very influential sentiments and concepts. I can't praise this thing enough.

Bette Davis may still be making gay men weep when she dies in Dark Victory, but this does the same thing only with the "gay man" in the lead.

The acting in this film is superb (Bruce Davidson was nominated for an Oscar). The script is excellent. The story, sadly, is all too memorable, historical, believable, and true to life. This is a film that makes you laugh, makes you cry, and then stomps on your heart for good measure.

I was just coming out when the first whispered rumors of GRID first hit the streets. I was in Atlanta and the word came from NY. We knew it could never reach us. How wrong we were!

This film takes me back to those first carefree days of my "out" life and then walks me back through an accurate account of my life thereafter historically. I am fortunate. I never got HIV or AIDS, but I lost many many friends who did.

Every time I watch this film, the last scene makes me bawl my eyes out, remembering the wonderful friends I've lost to this horrible disease.

Watch this film and take it to heart that there is something to fear in having unprotected sex! Mandatory for young gay men and recommended for parents of the same, so they can support their gay sons.

I had seen Longtime Companion in it's first release, and, ironically, have received it as part of my home collection from a friend who passed from the disease.

My assessment of a great film is that it makes you relate to a world that is completely foreign to you. Being a straight woman with a circle of gay, male friends, this was not a subject I was unfamilliar with. I have, however, screened this film for several friends who weren't so familliar with gay culture and the issues that surround it. They were astounded at how powerfully this film conveyed the lifestyle and terror in a way that never bordered on melodrama.

There are two scenes that are gripping, one of which comes near the end and I won't destroy it's intent by revealing it here. The first scene that will just leave you numb is Bruce Davison's character at his lover's side urging him to 'just rest,' as he essentially begs him to die. It is quietly and poigniantly stoic and will break your heart. Davison's Oscar nod for this performance was WELL deserved.

This is a movie that requires an open mind, but if you are looking for a film that will give you an enlightening view of a lifestyle you don't live, this is a great film for you and will not disappoint.

LONGTIME COMPANION

(USA - 1990)

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Theatrical soundtrack: Mono

Initially conceived as a response to Hollywood's hypocritical reluctance to depict the AIDS crisis within mainstream cinema, LONGTIME COMPANION limped into production in 1989 on half the projected $3 million budget, generously donated by producer Lindsay Law and the American Playhouse company, only to face another uphill struggle as soon as the movie was completed. Until the Samuel Goldwyn company bought worldwide distribution rights (somewhat reluctantly, it must be said), most mainstream and independent distributors were disinclined to tackle a movie which concentrates exclusively on the devastating effects of AIDS on a group of middle-class gay men from the years 1981 to 1988. Apparently, it's OK if the drama involves a cute kid who was accidentally infected by a tainted blood transfusion, or if it features a teary-eyed heterosexual mom who inadvertently 'contaminates' her big butch heterosexual husband, but not if it's about a bunch of (gays). Aware of this sickening double standard, writer Craig Lucas and debut director Norman René held back on the explicit love scenes and aimed their film at the widest possible audience.

That it still works is due in large part to a fantastic ensemble cast headlined by Bruce Davison as the 'mother hen' figure who holds court over a disparate group of writers, actors, businessmen, and their various friends and associates. Davison was Oscar-nominated for his strong performance, though he's matched every step of the way by Campbell Scott (son of George C.) as a young man who struggles desperately to hide from the reality of the horrors around him after his best friend (Dermot Mulroney) becomes one of the first casualties. Beefcake is provided by Patrick Cassidy and John Dossett as a loving couple whose lives are torn apart by the disease, while Mary-Louise Parker portrays one of the few straight characters in the group, a woman whose life revolves around her dwindling circle of gay friends.

Lucas' insightful script uses these characters to describe the progressive response of the gay community to the unfolding crisis, from the casual dismissals which greeted the first reports of a 'gay cancer' which appeared in 1981, through to the fear and confusion which descended as the disease began to dominate daily life. Hope breeds a certain amount of naivety in some of the early scenes (one character's philosophy is basically 'think happy thoughts and everything will be fine'), until the threat is finally absorbed and accepted, culminating in militant action against an ultra-conservative Establishment which seems determined to ignore the unfolding situation.

Lip service is paid to some of the important social issues which arose from the AIDS epidemic, but the film refuses to become sidelined by politics - Reagan is mentioned but not criticized, and there's a brief tirade against a health care system which seems more concerned with insurance than patient welfare - and instead focusses its attentions on people whose lives are ravaged by circumstances beyond their control. Director René, who had worked almost exclusively in theatre beforehand, is reluctant to allow sentiment to prevail, to the point where even the heaviest scenes are almost drained of genuine emotion, and some of the many dialogue exchanges which make up the bulk of the film should have been tightened during the editing process. But the cast breathes life into a broad range of recognizable characters, and the film survives primarily as an invaluable record of a dark chapter in gay history.

If the drama seems a little dated by subsequent advances in the treatment of HIV and AIDS, and if the subject no longer commands the same level of attention which existed when the movie first opened, its educational value remains intact. One gets the sense from this kind of movie that, even when a cure is eventually found, very little will change in the short term. Too many wonderful people have died and taken all their priceless ideosyncracies with them to the grave, and too many others have lost precious companions and loved ones for the sudden discovery of a cure to make much of a difference. But when future generations are finally released from the tyranny of AIDS, movies like LONGTIME COMPANION will always be there to remind them of a time when the world wasn't such a carefree place, and when the kindness and compassion of devoted friends was no guarantee of immunity from loss and devastation.

I thought that *Longtime Companion* was an endearing tearjerker of a movie. This films is about a cluster of friends, dying one by one from AIDS during the 80's.

The movie opens in 1980, with this particular circle of friends. Everyone is healthy and dandy. One man meets a hairy guy and they've maintained a relationship throughout the film. This movie immediately opens with all of them reading about this mysterious virus that seems to be attacking gay men. At first, it seemed to be associated with gay men who do poppers. This virus has earned a nickname, "gay cancer". It wasn't until a couple of years later that this virus was finally termed AIDS.

The whole AIDS was not still not clear to people, including gay men. In this film, you'll see how some gay men are uncomfortable with AIDS and especially those afflicted. You'll see men afraid to have sex. Afraid to kiss. Heck, you'll even see one washing his hands and face vigorously after greeting his friend who is dying from AIDS.

The time frame between the death of one friend to another friend having AIDS is quick. The movie jumps one year to another that surrounds an afflicted friends. You'll think that the movie doesn't build up enough for you to get emotional. Not true. You'll cry! So, have a box of Kleenex ready.

I love this movie and I cannot believe that I haven't seen it earlier. I often hear about older gay men retelling stories of the 70's and 80's on how gay life use to be as well as witnessing the deaths of their close friends to AIDS. Today, those affliced with HIV/AIDS are living longer, thanks to modern medicine. However, I cannot imagine what it was like, living in fear of a virus that seemed to be targeting gay men and the doctors could not seem to treat it.

Overall, it's a good movie that's worth your time. Check it out with a box of tissues.

I was 22 years old and partying freely with my friends on Fire Island when AIDS first appeared in a public way. The news paper articles, called it "gay cancer", and we joked at what seemed to be yet another attempt to disparage homosexual lifestyles. This movie has perfectly depicted the gay scene during that period, and absolutely captured the nature of groups of gay friends - male and female - as we lost dozens of our friends to this disease. The actors are absolutely wonderful, this movie is perfectly cast. The beauty of devotion and friendship, the ugliness of bigotry and lack of action to stop this disease are a perfect combination of the conflicts involed as AIDS began it's tragic invasion of America. As the "it can't happen to me" gave way to the fear, hysteria and blame, shining through was the indomitable spirit of the wonderful human beings who make up our gay community in unity, love, support and care. As a lesbian fully active in the gay community during the onset of AIDS, I lived this experience, it is absolutely spot on. This look back on the innocence lost of the gay community at the height of it's burgeoning acceptence into society is a landmark. This is a must own for anyone who is, or has loved and supported anyone, gay.

As a serious attempt to dramatize the AIDS crisis by showing its impact on a small group of friends, "Longtime Companion" holds up well. The limitations evident when the movie debuted are still there: yes, the men (with the obligatory wise-cracking straight female friend) are all rich yuppies, and they're all white. They seem to exist on their own without any family members--though perhaps this is realistic; many gays and lesbians are indeed estranged from close relatives. More seriously, the omission of the latest news available then about the HIV virus and how safer sex could reduce transmission makes the health picture appear more dark than it in fact was, even in 1990.

Ultimately none of this lessens the emotional impact of the intertwined stories of these characters, due to a quality script and superb acting. There are scenes that overwhelm even now with their power and truth, notably that of Bruce Davison gently helping his lover Mark Lamos let go of life, and the conclusion, that slips momentarily into fantasy in a most moving way. The promiscuous gay lifestyle is given its due, but so are stable, long-term relationships. One wonders why the careers of actors such as Campbell Scott and Dermot Mulroney have not taken off further than they have--hopefully it's not because they had the artistic courage to portray open, fully-rounded and attractive gay men.

"Longtime Companion" still stands out as a carefully produced, well-written and non-judgmental portrayal of people coping with one of the darkest periods of modern American history.

The thing I remember most about this film when I saw it in the theater in 1990 was its honesty. On every level. Great care was taken to accurately depict one particular community at one particular time--when AIDS was first being diagnosed as "the gay cancer," up through the mid-eighties, when attending monthly funerals was commonplace for gay men and their friends. Though HIV/AIDS had been around for a decade when this movie was made, there was no effort on the part of the filmmakers to whitewash the past. They not only show the ugliness of the disease, they show the ugliness of people's response to it. Even within the gay community there was a tendency for people to fingerpoint, accusing the first victims of being more promiscuous than themselves, or more excessive users of amyl nitrate and recreational drugs. There was fear of contamination, reluctance to touch or kiss, and even intimacy within monogomous relationships was hampered. People reached deperately for New Age cures, and Louise Haye was the reigning goddess of self-healing. By choosing to depict a five-year period, the filmmakers allow the viewer to see the lives of a group of friends evolve and deepen. Some of course succumb to the disease and die, others wrestle with their losses and rethink their lives. In the end, the survivors try to become part of the solution; they become visiting volunteers and political activists. For all its authenticity, the film is not depressing. This is incredible ensemble acting at its best. Campbell Scott, Bruce Davison, and Mark Lamos give especially moving performances, but there are no slackers in this cast.

By the time the movie was released, the face of AIDS was already changing and the filmmakers were criticized for focusing exclusively on gay victims. I felt then, and I continue to believe, this is a misplaced criticism. All fiction is self-limited. LONGTIME COMPANION is the story of one small group of friends who are affected by an unknown and dreadful disease; and it shows how each of them responds to the challenges thrown at them. Yes, they were wealthy or middle-class white men who spent summers together on Fire Island. But LONGTIME COMPANION is not a celebration of their insular lives. In fact, by the end of the film, one of this insular group, Campbell Scott's character, is shown working as a home care volunteer who visits a Latino man. I think the filmmakers, like GMHC at the time, were aware that things were starting to change. It seems to me that the film's critics, even in 1990, had forgotten that AIDS was first announced in the New York Times as "gay cancer" and later as "Gay Related Immune Deficiency Syndrome" before being called AIDS. But that said, we need to remember that there are many other people's stories that are worth telling, including those of people living and coping with AIDS in Africa. My only hope is that these stories will be told with all the accuracy and sensitivity that went into the making of LONGTIME COMPANION.

The DVD has no significant "extras," but the transfer is excellent.

I had seen Longtime Companion in it's first release, and, ironically, have received it as part of my home collection from a friend who passed from the disease.

My assessment of a great film is that it makes you relate to a world that is completely foreign to you. Being a straight woman with a circle of gay, male friends, this was not a subject I was unfamilliar with. I have, however, screened this film for several friends who weren't so familliar with gay culture and the issues that surround it. They were astounded at how powerfully this film conveyed the lifestyle and terror in a way that never bordered on melodrama.

There are two scenes that are gripping, one of which comes near the end and I won't destroy it's intent by revealing it here. The first scene that will just leave you numb is Bruce Davison's character at his lover's side urging him to 'just rest,' as he essentially begs him to die. It is quietly and poigniantly stoic and will break your heart. Davison's Oscar nod for this performance was WELL deserved.

This is a movie that requires an open mind, but if you are looking for a film that will give you an enlightening view of a lifestyle you don't live, this is a great film for you and will not disappoint.

This film is a wonder for many reasons: beautiful performances, sharp writing and directing, and SAD. When I first saw this - the sobbing in the theater was so intense that I thought I'd have to build an ark to get home. Now, Longtime Companion is still all of those things but a little dated. Advances in medicine haved moved us to a point where AIDS is not an immediate death sentence. Watching this film years later it does play a bit like "And Then There Were None" - but it still works. Watch it and remember if you lived through that era, watch it and be greatful if you did not.