Longtime Companion

The first theatrical film to center on the subject of AIDS, Longtime Companion is a powerful chronicle of a group of friends whose lives are changed forever by the specter of AIDS. The movie opens on Fire Island in 1981, where Willy (Campbell Scott) and his friend John (Dermot Mulroney) are visiting their older friends David (Bruce Davison), an independently wealthy gay socialite, and his lover Sean (Mark Lamos), a writer for the soaps. Here, Willy meets Fuzzy (Stephen Caffrey), and they become lovers. Meanwhile, in New York City, we are introduced to Howard (Patrick Cassidy), a soap actor, and his lover Paul (John Dossett), who live next door to Fuzzy's best friend Lisa (Mary Louise Parker). It's a rather complicated tableau, but we become familiar with the characters very quickly, and as their stories unfold and their lives cross paths over the eight years which comprise the story, we are caught up in the aspirations of these mostly young and talented people who are struggling to become someones...yet find themselves stalked by a killer within. Playwright Craig Lucas has written an admirable script that--while truly capturing the devastation, the confusion, and the countless tragedies wrought by AIDS--never becomes maudlin or preachy. The title, which is based on the euphemistic phrase often used in obituaries to describe the surviving lovers of AIDS victims, is a subtle reminder of the hypocrisy and discrimination from the heterosexual community which made--especially in the early years--the AIDS crisis all the more unbearable for the gay population. Longtime Companion is a remarkable film, a movie which is first and foremost a great story, superbly acted, yet also a powerful critique of our society. Highly recommended.