Angels in America

Angels in America
HBO Films, DVD
Written by Tony Kushner
Directed by Mike Nichols

I've just watched last year's HBO movie of "Angels in America," the screen adaptation of Tony Kushner's epic play about AIDS, homosexuality, politics and spirituality in 1985 America. Simply put, it's an intense piece: at times highly moving, at others very contemplative and at even others, very insightful. It's not an entirely realistic play: there are some really fantastical elements like angels flying in through giant holes in the roof. But these parts seem more commenting on the realistic portions than actually existing as a reality in the play.

Kushner is brilliant at creating very real and full characters, characters that get explored unsympathetically from all sides - even the ugly ones. And in the end, you end up caring for many characters even despite of their flaws. That is probably one of the greatest features of the two Kushner works I'm familiar with - this one now, and recently "Caroline, or Change." In "Caroline," the title character isn't exactly a delectable leading lady. She's brusque, always angry and weak; but in the end, you feel with her (as opposed to simply for her), you understand her, and you do end up liking her in a strange way. Much the same is true in "Angels in America", where a character like Louis - who leaves his lover Prior as soon as it is revealed Prior has AIDS and is dying - has major faults and yet is totally understandable at the same time.

Mostly, I found the whole thing deeply moving, and mostly because you get so deep into each of the characters. At nearly six hours in length, though, some parts do lag on for longer than they should, and some dialogue is overstuffed with Kushner's apparently trademark, wild wordiness. That language is highly theatrical - which may have worked very well when the play was up on stage, but comes off somewhat cold on screen. But ultimately, all that detail in the six hour length is glorious, and all those words make for a very rich and interesting text, even if it sounds funny on TV.

If nothing else, go see this "Angels" for the stunning performances from the cast. Al Pacino gives the loudest and most dramatic performance; nuanced and intense as hell, but you don't end up like his particular character very much (his role, though, is the role that has been the most critically lauded of the production). I liked Jeffery Wright and Mary Louise Parker's more understated performances much more, since they didn't have to go to yelling and theatrics to convey character and emotion. Justin Kirk was also particularly noteworthy, even if his climactiv "big speech" was rendered a bit strange by the overwrought language I mentioned above.

In sum, this tv movie definetly deserved the ton of awards it won earlier this year.