Philadelphia

Question: At the end of the film just before Tom hanks dies, he lowers his oxygen mask and says to partner Banderas "I'm ready". Ready for what exactly? Ready to die? Ready for a bit of final smooching? Or ready (and this is just my assumption) for Banderas to pull the plug?

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: Ready to die.

Question: Can someone please explain the scene in the hallway at the basketball game? It seems to suggest that Andrew actually wasn't fired because of his sexuality or AIDS. But I thought the point of the movie is that he was.

MikeH

Answer: My take was that one of his firm's issues was that they didn't consider him a "victim" of the disease because, unlike his co-worker who contracted the AIDS virus from a blood transfusion, he was infected due to what they considered were his reckless and immoral life-style choices.

raywest

Question: Philadelphia City Hall is a massive building with thick walls. Right after their arguments in the Kendall case Hanks and Washington are seen in the elevator using their cell phones. Cell phones didn't get great reception in 1993 anyway, so would they have worked at all in an elevator inside a massive building?

William Lanigan

Chosen answer: Probably not. But occasionally phones have worked in places they shouldn't. a signal gets through, somehow. In the movies, anything is possible as long as it moves the plot along.

Question: In the movie, it shows flashbacks of Andy going to what looks like a porn theatre and talking to a strange man there. Is that where he caught HIV?

Answer: Yes. During the trial, Andy said that he went to the theatre and a lot of sex happened there. He had sex with another man and contracted AIDS.

Continuity mistake: In the final scene with Andrew Beckett dying in hospital, he is wearing an oxygen mask. The LHS green strap is outside the mask when the mask is removed. When put back by Joe Miller it is on the inside of the mask - this would also impact on the flow of oxygen to the patient. The next time we see Beckett the green strap appears on the outside, but no one was near to move it. What is also strange is that Miller doesn't correct the position of the strap as it looks really odd. (01:47:00)

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Dr. Armbruster: The HIV virus can only be transmitted through the exchange of bodily fluids, namely blood, semen, and vaginal secretions.

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Trivia: The film was based on an actual lawsuit against Hyatt Legal Services, a storefront chain in the Midwest with a less-than-sterling reputation in the legal profession.

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