i usu don't rate stuff...i leave it to the rest of the commentators. unless i differ from the opinion stated and need to try and balance the scales...
i saw this in NY when it was first presented...i saw it in late '98 or '99. i wasn't particularly moved. i'm not homophobic. in fact, i was a nurse during the epidemic. in the Bay Area...Oakland, San Francisco, Berkeley, etc. i was working with aids patients when it didn't have a name. and the Filipino nurses refused to work with them(they were fired. you shouldn't be 'in this business(which isn't a 'business')' if you don't know what you signed up for. it just didn't seem to go anywhere...and ended before it began, it seemed to me. i didn't see pt 2. until the HBO production. which i wound up thinking was one of (emphasis)the best pieces of work i've ever been lucky to be exposed to...maybe Pacino's best performance. and that isn't 'saying a little', considering the breadth of the man's career. it (emphasis)was different than the play, though. easier to do in film 'format'...real sets, etc. and it made perfect(emphasis on the purr) sense to me. it also introduced me to Jeffrey wright, who i thought matched Pacino step for dramatic step. those two were burning up the stage with the scenes they did together, Pacino and wright... SO... when i got to this, was seated and a)found out it was a London production and that Nathan lane was playing the Pacino part...i have to say...i was skeptical...i KNOW lane's a great actor. i just thought they would be impossible(emphasis on the poss, which, for whatever reason/s the IMDb program took issue with as 'shouting'. i wish people knew the diff between shouting and emphasis. and this is a site that contains dramatic works by the thousands. how do you spell irony?) shoes to fill... but lane seemed to have no problem warming up to the role...the man's been around a long time...he shows how a great actor becomes the character...till you don't even notice the actor anymore... another recognizable face is Andrew(?) Garfield...another great performance. but, honestly. EVERYthing/body in this production really nailed their parts...some playing a few of the roles...Denise Gough...where DID she come from? i can't believe i haven't, somehow, noticed someone THIS good before...i guess, maybe, she does television? if you're at ALL on the fence as to whether to go see this? i don't know what to tell you to illustrate how much i understand about storytelling. so either trust me that when i say something is worthwhile, it is...or lose out on an extremely moving experience, if the material sounds at all interesting to you. i entered this last comment as a caveat to those offended by 'foul language'(not a bird to be seen! 4 hrs and not even a chicken dinner!) or homosexuality(plenty of those).
