MovieChat Forums > Philadelphia (1994) Discussion > Bible bigot

Bible bigot

posted 10 years ago by majandralover30
4 replies | jump to latest

When charles gets up on the stand he tells the whole court that andy broke the rules of old and new testament, referring to his gayness. wouldn't that alone make the jury question that he was firing him for being gay. Not the smartest move. BTW, in the hallway scene they ask bob if he knew that he had AIDS. That confused me, because it was the other one who spotted the lesions and knew that he had aids. They all assumed he had aids. so why was Bob so special? And when he revealed his shirt, one lawyer said it was a nightmare and the other said andy asked for it. Did he mean a nightmare for them, or was the lawyer feeling bad for andy? Some of them seemed conflicted.

[–] sioul_p 10 years ago

its easier to answer your questions if you number them.good questions:

1. that hallway scene is a great scene.
Wheeler, the leader of the 4 partners thinks he was right for firing and does not agree with the trial...but Bob says that, actually, there might be case...meaning that they should not have fired tomhanks on the basis of gayness/aids.
When Wheeler hears bob say out loud what all 4 were thinking in their head, it makes Wheeler realize they have to start PRETENDING THEY NEVER KNEW TOMHANKS WAS SICK !! AND THAT THEREFORE THERE SHOULD BE NO CASE BECAUSE DISCRIMINATION IS NOT THE REASON FOR FIRING TOMHANKS, INCOMPETENCE WAS THE REASON.
so that is why the 2 men come to bobs face and said ironically: 'geez bob..you didnt know he had aids did you ?' and bob realizes he has to lie to protect the firm. amazing how just a few seconds of dialogue mean so mcuh. great acting/directing.

2. a nightmare here meaning, the sistuation is really akward:
it is really rare to go to court and someone is asked to take their shirt off to testify...if it was a pretty woman that would be awsome...but here its a guy. not only that he is gay. not only that he is sick...so its a 'nightmare'. Plus, this will not help their case...its a nightmare for the firm overall. that simple expression had multiple meanings. again, great screenplay here.

[–] majandralover30 10 years ago

so when bob got up and admitted he had suspicions but never shared them with teh others, was he telling the truth or lying to protect the firm? Also, to go back to the original post, why on earth did wheeler get up on there and more or less use the Bible as a way of explaining the rules Wouldn't that only make him seem homophobic, using religion as a way to degrade him, and not his supposed incompetency? It was a foolish thing to say when you're trying ot make it look like you fired this man for practical reasons.

[–] sioul_p 10 years ago

good question

1. bob was telling the truth. he had suspicion but didnt tell others because he respected tomhanks.
he respected him and as long as tomhanks could do the job its nobodys business to know if he was sick.
also, bob knew that if wheeler found out, tomhanks would get fired, so he was protecting tomhanks, out of respect.
remember when you are on trial you have swear and tell the truth...so bob is an honest and caring man.

2. there are many possible reasons why he acted this way.
reason a)
remember,if wheeler could prove that the firing was for incompetence...then it doesnt matter whether wheeler was indeed homophobic or not. wheeler was so confident in his chances to win that he was careless and expressed his true self.

reason b)
wheeler used to respect tomhanks. during the trial, wheeler realised that firing was wrong. he feels guilty. he understands tomhanks is human. and he starts to understand that the firm will lose the case. so he has nothing to lose. he might as well express his real feelings and let a dying man win.

reason c) remember that every court decision is used in the future. so if wheeler clearly expresses his feelings and he wins, then that will help all the others who think like him. but if he loses its the opposite...but he has nothing to lose at this point.

reason d) wheeler is old, and he thinks that the rest of the world will agree with him and his old homophobia principles. he thinks maybe the jury will agree with the old bible scripture. and that they will vote to make tomhanks lose.

[–] BubbaDank80 9 years ago

I just got done rewatchibg this movie. It still holds up today. In regards to Bob, when Andy was investigating his case, he found Bob worked for another law firm where a paralegal, or secretary, had the same lesions, as Andy, but the office knew she had AIDS. That's why he said that he knew, but not really because he never asked.