On the same night it concluded the first season of “Looking,” HBO released the teaser trailer for its next queer interest project, “The Normal Heart.”
Based on Larry Kramer’s groundbreaking 1985 play, the film is based on a screenplay by Kramer itself. It follows New York-based writer and gay activist Ned Weeks as he struggles to pull together an organization focused on raising awareness about AIDS, which at that point had yet to even find a name (before it was AIDS, it was called, seriously — GRID, or Gay Related Immune Deficiency).
Mark Ruffalo plays Weeks in the film, and he leads a pretty dreamy cast that includes Julia Roberts Matt Bomer, Alfred Molina, Joe Mantello, Taylor Kitsch, Denis O’Hare and Corey Stoll.
It’s been a long while since we’ve seen an unflinching narrative take on the onset of AIDS, and HBO has a pretty stellar track record (see “Angels in America,” please), so we’re extremely excited/nervous to see how “The Normal Heart” turns out. The only thing that makes us a little concerned? It’s directed by Ryan Murphy, who hasn’t exactly excelled when it comes to feature films. But here’s hoping “The Normal Heart” bucks that trend and gives us a new film to place in the all-too-small canon of great HIV/AIDS cinema. We’ll find out May 25th but until then, watch the trailer:
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