Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

Phillipa Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Brooklynn There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

troyturton61 I still cry, every time I watch this movie. How cant you? Both for the subject matter, the lost loved ones and of course. The fact that to this day, gays are still hated & feared.

namashi_1 How often do we come across a film as beautiful & heartbreaking as 'Longtime Companion'? I don't remember the last time I saw a film this affecting & emotionally resonant. This is cinema at its finest. This 1989 film is criminally underrated & features one of the finest yet overlooked performances of its time in the form of Bruce Davison.'Longtime Companion' Synopsis: The emergence and devastation of the AIDS epidemic is chronicled in the lives of several gay men living during the 1980s.'Longtime Companion' is about loving someone & how love can help someone's suffering lesser. We watch many gay men affected & devastated as the AIDS epidemic spreads, within their lives. We watch lovers being tested by an illness that comes & shatters their lives, we watch people suffer & die, but we also watch people not giving up on love & hope, even in such a bleak circumstance such as this. 'Longtime Companion' is about finding humanity & never letting it go. The power of Love is depicted marvelously here.Norman René, the Director of this brave film, also died from complications of AIDS in 1996. Talk about life & its unexpected turns! René's Direction is skilled. Though this was his Directorial Debut, the understanding & the ease in the way he has handled this film, is something to be witnessed. 'Longtime Companion' is pure emotion at its peak. René's Work is truly overlooked & I hope people reading this review, take out time & experience this film. You'll be richly rewarded & moved.Craig Lucas's Screenplay is emotionally empowering & arresting at all times. Rarely a film has defined Love & Humanity with such precision. Cinematography is perfect. Editing is crisply done. Art & Costume Design are well-done. Make-Up credits a special mention.And now coming to Bruce Davison. In a Golden-Globe Winning & Academy-Award Nominated Performance, Davison's portrayal of a humorous, loving & brave man is nothing less of an astonishment. Davison is par-excellence. Watch the scene where he gives a farewell speech to his lover on his death bed, you'll be moved beyond bounds. Davison is masterclass, from start to end. What A Performance! Of the rest of the cast, Campbell Scott, Patrick Cassidy, Mary-Louise Parker and Dermot Mulroney lend remarkable support. Others are great in their respective parts, as well.On the whole, 'Longtime Companion' is Essential Viewing. Two Big Thumbs Up!

tempus1 It amazes me that so many people gush and rhapsodize over this movie. There have been enough good gay-themed movies (Parting Glances, To Forget Venice, My Beautiful Laundrette, Maurice, Alive and Kicking, to name only a few) in the past twenty-five years; by comparison, how is it that people are able to project all sorts of virtues and emotions onto a thin, tiresome, badly acted (save Bruce Davison) problem play which has no subject other than AIDS IS BAD?! The interminable Fire Island scenes are not only shallow, stereotypical, and embarrassing, both in script and execution, they are unwatchably dated. The 'characters'--if one could refer to one-dimensional, wooden, solipsistic, Yuppie brats as 'characters'--have no inner lives or any genuine concerns beyond dick, dunes, and dish, and the attempt to gin up emotion later in the movie, and to have the Yuppie fags suddenly develop 'consciences' and 'feeling', is utterly EMETIC. I use the word 'fags' advisedly; I am a gay man myself, and this rehash of the most unattractive and boring NYC/Fire Island stereotypes leaves no other appropriate word to describe it. Bruce Davison gives a good performance, very fine at the end; what a waste of a fine actor and his skill.

MarieGabrielle and this film should continue to make an impression over time as well. The performances by Campbell Scott, Mr. Davison and Mark Lamos deserve special mention. There is also a pivotal role with Dermot Mulroney, before he was big box-office.Many reviewers have mentioned the theme, so I will not belabor the point. I will mention that, other than the film "The Band Played On", this film addresses the human issues involved with AIDS, or any illness. It has a message without being trite or preachy, or melodramatic. This is difficult to pull off, if you watch other movies of this genre they often do not ring true, or the performances are over the top. This movie makes the audience feel part of it, those of us who grew up in the 80's remember the Reagan jokes, the first "Dynasty" episode to address the AIDS issue, and so on. There was a lot of denial at this time, and I am not so sure there still isn't, in some sectors of society.At any rate, you should rent or buy this movie if you haven't been able to catch it on cable. I am hard pressed to think of other movies which have addressed this issue in a sensitive, realistic way; "Torch Song Trilogy" with Harvey Fierstein and Matthew Broderick was an excellent film, but did not address the AIDS issue directly. If anyone can think of any please recommend them!.