In 1981, Ned Weeks (Mark Ruffalo), a writer and gay activist, arrives for a weekend at Fire Island. He has suggested in his articles that gay men are too promiscuous and don't have enough respect for love; this is not a popular opinion in the community, and Ned's loneliness is apparent to everyone. Yet none of this dims his feeling that it is his mission to cover the emerging health crisis among gays. He goes to The New York Times in hopes of convincing Felix Turner (Matt Bomer), a closeted reporter, to do an article on the fact that young men in Manhattan are dying of a mysterious disease which is spreading rapidly.

Although Felix does not write the piece, he does begin dating this prophet who just cannot fathom the widespread indifference to the epidemic. It is the first time in his life that Ned feels truly loved. His brother Ben (Alfred Molina) is a wealthy lawyer who refuses to acknowledge that he and Ned are no different, even though Ned is a homosexual and he is not. Until he does so, Ned stops talking to him.

The writer's most zealous ally is Dr. Emma Brookner (Julia Roberts), a New York physician who is treating the bulk of men with the disease they are calling AIDS. Confined to a wheel-chair and unable to use her legs thanks to losing a childhood battle with polio, she and Ned try to get the gay community to change their behavior to fight the disease. But her audiences of gay men are reluctant to stop having sex since they consider it an essential part of their gay identity. Ned and some of his friends do eventually set up the Gay Men's Health Crisis to provide information via a hotline and emotional and legal support. Ned becomes their most avid spokesperson.

In a tour of a hospital where AIDS patients are being treated, Ned and Emma witness the refusal of workers and some aides to have anything to do with the dying patients. In one gruesome sequence, a pilot refuses to fly a plane carrying a man dying of AIDS; they cannot take off until another pilot is found. Before the victim's lover can take him to see his mother, he dies. Prejudice at the funeral parlor results in the dead man's body being stuffed in a garbage bag.

Meanwhile in New York, Ned earns the ire of the gay community by his endless rants against New York City Mayor Ed Koch; the medical establishment; and the White House. When he carries his righteous indignation too far, he alienates the others at Gay Men's Health Crisis office.

The Normal Heart, written by Larry Kramer, is a tour de force depiction of three early years in the AIDS crisis. It was first staged as a play at the New York's Public Theatre in 1985. Director Ryan Murphy has put together a stellar cast of actors with Mark Ruffalo delivering an intense and riveting performance as the prophet trying to convince the gay community to change their ways and the political establishment to respond to the AIDS epidemic. Although some will find Ned's repeated rants to be off-putting, we found his passion admirable. We also empathized with his life changing affair with Felix which tenderizes his heart. It is this nurturing and intimate relationship that gives Ned the strength and vision to carry on his crusade for AIDS victims.

GO DEEPER

In the writings of the Desert Fathers there is this entry: "Abbot Ammonas said that he had spent fourteen years in Scete praying to God day and night to be delivered from anger." This is an emotion with lots of fire power and energy attached to it. For many spiritual people, anger remains an emotion with no rightful place in their hearts or minds.

These days it seems like more and more people are using their anger as a way of getting rid of nasty feelings of fear, hurt, injustice, and hatred. It is now a given that men, women, and even children may blow up, explode, or rant and rave in public settings. Judy Ford, a psychotherapist, has observed this phenomenon and stated:

"Uproar is a way of making one's own concerns more important than anyone else's. It is the angry person's syndrome. An angry person imagines an insult and immediately hurls insults right back. They overpower others with threats and loud voices."

The Normal Heart offers us a precious opportunity to take a hard look at anger: the hurt, disappointment, and pain behind this emotion as well as the genuine value of righteous indignation as an effective tool in the repertoire of prophets and other agents of change.

Many religious teachers and therapists are convinced that the positive management of anger means not suppressing it, ignoring it, or letting it harden into hostility. The Normal Heart conveys the burdens Ned bears as he speaks out against the indifference of those who avert their eyes from the AIDS crisis or retain their prejudice against homosexuals who are suffering. When he shouts these messages from the rooftops, Ned is practicing righteous indignation. Robin R. Meyers, a minister and professor, elaborates:

"Righteous indignation can be an instrument of the divine. The word 'indignation' itself comes from the Latin root indignitas, from which we get the noun form "indignity" — the opposite of dignity. Hence, indignation is aroused not for injury to oneself, but in response to a fundamental injustice that denies dignity to others. Ironically, one must sometimes act in an undignified way in order to help bring down that injustice."

Gandhi used his righteous indignation to achieve great things for those who were oppressed and so did Martin Luther King, Jr. Anger, as we have seen, can be destructive or constructive, harmful or healing. Ned uses his righteous indignation to speak out for those who are being ignored and mistreated but he also goes too far in personal attacks against public officials and those within the Gay Men's Health Crisis group. Judy Ford, sums up the message we take away from The Normal Heart:

"Notice that anger is one letter short of danger. A little anger is helpful; too much anger is hurtful."

Special features on the DVD include How to start a war: an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the true story that inspired the film, featuring interviews with Larry Kramer, Mark Ruffalo, and Julia Roberts.