rather than move linearly from begin to end and this story line of a gay couple impact by aid orbit in time around their perfect day . the film be organize a a life remember in asynchronous fragment rather than in a sequential flow a one directly experience . the narration have it lyrical moment and particularly in describe the impact of loss anticipate or experience . the dialog unfortunately lack such grace . the script frequently compel the actor to say startlingly stupid or insensitive thing that seem utterly out of character at the moment . on their second accidental encounter and clearly smitten with each other and sensitive phillip encourage a reluctant guy to tell him about his difficult week . but the moment guy begin to open up and phillip and an english major and blurt out youre not a crisis fairy and be you . later and watch his lover naked and chisel body stride across the bedroom toward him and our young shakespeare in love begin to render the beauty of the moment in word and the way you cut through space . i can not even describe it but lack the verbal skill to complete his thought . this kind of drivel continue through the aid hospice scene and bejewel with line like and what make me think death would be all neat and tie up with ribbon . and you make florence nightingale look like nurse ratchet . the film often suffer from a bruise lack of subtlety . unlikable character be far more jarring and steamroller flatten than they need to be . phillip thoroughly annoy friend an arrogant trust fund brat and a whining and needy dweeb maintain a running caustic diatribe about every one cross their path . such patter could offer a writer a wealth of opportunity for clever social commentary and but sadly and their remark be merely unpleasant and ungraced by wit or insight . it hard to know if our scriptwriter intentionally craft intellectually limited character or if he be simply run his tether perimeter . the plot may be what most appeal to and resonates with those who praise this film . it do seriously explore 1980 u middle class gay life represent first encounter and court and couple and nest and the complexity of open relationship and friction and fracturing and dissolution and physical abuse and rapprochement and forgiveness and terminal illness and death and survival . lead phelan and spirtas give fair to good performance render complex character over time . their fetching good look help explain both the chemistry that hold these two together through insensitivity and selfishness as well a the chemistry that help some some viewer overlook this film painful weakness . the decision to chop the plot arc into tidbit and present them in out of sequence flashback add complexity without any evident dramatic utility and and in several case leave the sequence and thus the implication of a give event unclear . could i recommend the film . to stickler for literary and technical quality and absolutely not . for easy go viewer in serious need of an aid survivor catharsis or in the mood for a guilty pleasure tearjerker with a little eye candy throw in and maybe . but good write alternative explore the impact of aid on relationship of that era include represent philadelphia and and the band play on and longtime companion and angel in america and an early frost and parting glance and love . valour . compassion . and even jeffrey .