Angels in America, 2003

After hitting upon a weird, funny movie ("The Gay Deceivers") late this spring, I seemed to be into an unplanned summer-long gay-themed movie "research project" seemingly winding down now, after a real interesting journey. Some very good and likably funny (e.g. "Mambo Italiano", "Jeffrey") plus (often foreign) dramas, and several not interesting for general reasons. Some are outside the category, like "The Man of My Life," which is just superb insightful Bergmanesque drama. Apparently I have capped this off with the 4-hour "Angels," which I did not know if I would have the patience for. I can say that it's excellent & really well-made under Mike Nichols' guidance. I wonder what influence he had on the movie's look which is rich & often phantasmagoric. I also cannot say what the mainstream gay world thought of it either. I was personally struck most by the story of Roy Cohn, notorious anti-Communist of the 50s--and rather evil, but really smart & complicated. Al Pacino plays him with a no-holds-barred power. But do most people even know who he is? As a historian, I got it, but wonder if it bored & confused many watchers. (And the complications about Ethel Rosenberg?) If nothing else, the playwright is clearly enormously ambitious in his scope & the intensity of his alter ego Louis is striking, even sympathetic, although perhaps strident to those who find his philosophical & political concerns obscure or remote. There are other subtexts I find provocative, such as whether it is more or less common for wildly mismatched gay pairs (here, liberal urban Jew and conservative Mormon) to find emotional complementarity than would the straight world. (Or is it simply a dramaturgical device--a little creaky if so, but effective.) Anyway, there is a lot going on in this movie & it is extremely well-crafted. Provocative and thoughtful about philosophy, life, and politics; it transcends any narrow parochial segment. May deserve 5 stars? Pretty amazing. 8.08

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