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Poster for The Normal Heart

The Normal Heart

To win a war, You have to start one

2014 · 2h 12m · TV-MA Drama
Directed by Ryan Murphy

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Overview

The story of the onset of the HIV-AIDS crisis in New York City in the early 1980s, taking an unflinching look at the nation's sexual politics as gay activists and their allies in the medical community fight to expose the truth about the burgeoning epidemic to a city and nation in denial.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
94%
Tomatometer
Fresh

There is less reporting on poverty in America than on any other major societal issue. So it is with AIDS. That alone makes The Normal Heart an important film.

Eric Sasson, The New Republic
Fresh

If anger and suffering were all there were to The Normal Heart, watching it would be torture. Luckily, it has heart to match its guts.

Matt Zoller Seitz, New York Magazine/Vulture
Fresh

Matt Bomer is heartbreaking as a New York Times style reporter looking for love in a loveless city. His physical transformation is astonishing and agonizing.

Rick Nelson, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Fresh

Time, and rewrites, have softened some of the play's stridency. More important, the romance between Weeks (Ruffalo) and his lover, Felix (Bomer), is given a more prominent role as is Felix's death spiral, giving the story power both broad and intimate.

Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times
Fresh

Moving, well acted and important for a generation who may be unfamiliar with the source material. But the TV version, also written by Kramer, doesn't have the emotional heft of the play.

Joanne Ostrow, Denver Post

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