Longtime Companion
Encyclopedia
Longtime Companion is a 1989
film with Bruce Davison
, Campbell Scott
, Patrick Cassidy
, and Mary-Louise Parker
. The first wide-release theatrical film to deal with the subject of AIDS
, the film takes its title from the words The New York Times
used to describe the surviving same-sex partner of someone who had died of AIDS during the 1980s.
, and his friend John (Dermot Mulroney
) are spending time with affluent gay couple David (Bruce Davison
) and Sean (Mark Lamos
) at their beach house on Fire Island
for the 4th of July
. Sean is a screenwriter
for the popular daytime soap opera
Other People and David comes from a blue blood background and has a large trust fund. Back in the city, Howard (Patrick Cassidy
) is preparing to audition for Sean's soap. His boyfriend is Paul (John Dossett
) a business executive and their next-door neighbor is Lisa (Parker), whose friend Fuzzy (Stephen Caffrey
), is a lawyer who represents Howard.
That morning, The New York Times publishes its first article about the rise of a new "gay cancer
." The news spreads as friends call each other. Some are immediately concerned, others dismissive. Willy meets Fuzzy at a tea dance
later in the afternoon and they begin a relationship. Howard lands the role.
, fearing that by playing gay he won't be offered other sorts of parts. Willy and Fuzzy move in together.
John dies shortly after his admission to the hospital.
on the soap opera. The group also discuss a sick neighbor who has become a pariah on the island. That evening, Sean and David argue over Sean's fears that he might be getting sick.
. Sean is also hospitalized. Willy visits Sean and is so terrified of becoming infected that he dons a surgical mask and protective gown and, when Sean kisses him on the neck, excuses himself to the bathroom to scrub the spot. Michael is also visiting Sean, bringing with him homeopathic
preparations and a book by Louise Hay
. Howard visits Paul and breaks down sobbing. Paul tries to reassure and comfort him.
. David is helping with his writing and deceiving the studio into thinking that Sean is still able to work. Fuzzy tries to get Howard a movie role but the producer refuses to cast him because of the rumor that he has AIDS. Paul is back in the hospital following a seizure. David takes Sean for a walk but has to take him home when Sean urinates in a fountain. That night Willy catches Fuzzy checking himself for swollen glands and they talk about their fear of dying. "What do you think happens when we die?" Fuzzy asks. "We get to have sex again" is Willy's reply.
to find a funeral home. In a rare moment of levity, Lisa and Willy stumble across a slinky red dress in Sean's closet and consider giving it to the undertaker. "What could they say", asks Willy, "if we said we knew him and we knew that's the way he wanted to be remembered?" Ultimately they decide against it, since "it needs a hat."
The four go to a Chinese restaurant to write Sean's obituary and include David as his "longtime companion."
him.
Howard has been diagnosed as being HIV positive. Although it's not mentioned, the presumption is that Paul has died. Howard exploits his remaining fame as a former soap opera star to raise money for AIDS causes by hosting a benefit which includes a performance by Finger Lakes Trio of the Village People
song "YMCA
" performed in a pastiche of chamber music style.
demonstration. They talk about remembering a time before AIDS and wonder about finding a cure. The film ends with a momentary fantasy sequence, with the friends and others lost to AIDS appearing with them on the beach, before they vanish again and the three are left to walk off the deserted beach while the song "Post-Mortem Bar", by Zane Campbell, plays on the soundtrack.
reporting that all 15 of the reviews they tallied were positive.
. In addition to his Oscar nomination, Davison won a Golden Globe award, an Independent Spirit Award, a National Society of Film Critics
award, and a New York Film Critics Circle award for Best Supporting Actor. Other awards and nominations include:
The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard
section at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival
.
1989 in film
-Events:* Batman is released on June 23, and goes on to gross over $410 million worldwide.* Actress Kim Basinger and her brother Mick purchase Braselton, Georgia, for $20 million...
film with Bruce Davison
Bruce Davison
Bruce Davison is an American actor and director.-Early life:Davison was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Marian E. , a secretary, and Clair W. Davison, a musician, architect, and draftsman for the Army Engineers. His parents divorced when he was three years old. He was raised by his...
, Campbell Scott
Campbell Scott
Campbell Scott is an American actor, director, producer, and voice artist.-Life and career:Scott was born in New York City, the son of George C. Scott, an actor, director, and producer, and Colleen Dewhurst, a Canadian-born actress. He graduated from Lawrence University in 1983. His brother is...
, Patrick Cassidy
Patrick Cassidy (actor)
Patrick Cassidy is an American actor best known for his roles in musical theatre and television.-Personal life:...
, and Mary-Louise Parker
Mary-Louise Parker
Mary-Louise Parker is an American actress, known for her current lead role on Showtime's television series Weeds portraying Nancy Botwin, for which she has received several nominations and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in 2006...
. The first wide-release theatrical film to deal with the subject of AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
, the film takes its title from the words The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
used to describe the surviving same-sex partner of someone who had died of AIDS during the 1980s.
Plot
Longtime Companion chronicles the first years of the AIDS epidemic as seen through its impact on several gay men and the straight female sister of one of them. The film is split into several sections identified by dates.July 3, 1981
Willy (Campbell Scott) a personal trainerPersonal trainer
A personal trainer is a fitness professional involved in exercise prescription and instruction. They motivate clients by setting goals and providing feedback and accountability to clients. Trainers also measure their client's strengths and weaknesses with fitness assessments...
, and his friend John (Dermot Mulroney
Dermot Mulroney
-Early life:Mulroney was born in Alexandria, Virginia, the son of Ellen, a housewife and amateur actress originally from Manchester, Iowa, and Michael Mulroney, a law professor at Villanova University School of Law, originally from Elkader, Iowa. He has a sister, Moira, and three brothers, Conor,...
) are spending time with affluent gay couple David (Bruce Davison
Bruce Davison
Bruce Davison is an American actor and director.-Early life:Davison was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Marian E. , a secretary, and Clair W. Davison, a musician, architect, and draftsman for the Army Engineers. His parents divorced when he was three years old. He was raised by his...
) and Sean (Mark Lamos
Mark Lamos
Mark Lamos is an American theatre and opera director, producer and actor. Under his direction, Hartford Stage won the 1989 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre and he has been nominated for two other Tonys...
) at their beach house on Fire Island
Fire Island, New York
Fire Island is one of the outer barrier islands adjacent to the south shore of Long Island, New York. It is approximately long and varies between broad. Fire Island is part of Suffolk County. It comprises a number of hamlets, census-designated places , and villages, all of which lie within the...
for the 4th of July
Independence Day (United States)
Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain...
. Sean is a screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
for the popular daytime soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Other People and David comes from a blue blood background and has a large trust fund. Back in the city, Howard (Patrick Cassidy
Patrick Cassidy (actor)
Patrick Cassidy is an American actor best known for his roles in musical theatre and television.-Personal life:...
) is preparing to audition for Sean's soap. His boyfriend is Paul (John Dossett
John Dossett
John Dossett is an American actor and singer.-Early life and education:Dossett attended Mount Pleasant High School in Wilmington, Delaware from 1972 through 1976, where he was an announcer for the school's radio station, WMPH, and appeared in student theater productions.-Career:Dossett made his...
) a business executive and their next-door neighbor is Lisa (Parker), whose friend Fuzzy (Stephen Caffrey
Stephen Caffrey (actor)
Stephen Edwin Caffrey is an American television, film and stage actor. He is the fifth of seven children born to an Irish-American family in Cleveland. His year of birth has been mistakenly cited as 1961, but he is two years older.At the age of 17 he and his family permanently settled in Chicago,...
), is a lawyer who represents Howard.
That morning, The New York Times publishes its first article about the rise of a new "gay cancer
Kaposi's sarcoma
Kaposi's sarcoma is a tumor caused by Human herpesvirus 8 , also known as Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus . It was originally described by Moritz Kaposi , a Hungarian dermatologist practicing at the University of Vienna in 1872. It became more widely known as one of the AIDS defining...
." The news spreads as friends call each other. Some are immediately concerned, others dismissive. Willy meets Fuzzy at a tea dance
Tea dance
A tea dance, or thé dansant is a summer or autumn afternoon or early-evening dance from four to seven, sometimes preceded in the English countryside by a garden party. The function evolved from the concept of the afternoon tea, and J. Pettigrew traces its origin to the French colonization of Morocco...
later in the afternoon and they begin a relationship. Howard lands the role.
April 30, 1982
John is the first among the group to be diagnosed with the new disease, contracting pneumonia. Howard is given script pages in which his character is slated to become the first openly gay character on daytime television. He's very concerned about typecastingTypecasting (acting)
In TV, film, and theatre, typecasting is the process by which a particular actor becomes strongly identified with a specific character; one or more particular roles; or, characters having the same traits or coming from the same social or ethnic groups...
, fearing that by playing gay he won't be offered other sorts of parts. Willy and Fuzzy move in together.
John dies shortly after his admission to the hospital.
June 17, 1983
Willy, Fuzzy, Lisa, David and Sean gather back on Fire Island with friends Michael and Bob to watch Howard's character come outComing out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
on the soap opera. The group also discuss a sick neighbor who has become a pariah on the island. That evening, Sean and David argue over Sean's fears that he might be getting sick.
September 7, 1984
Paul is hospitalized with toxoplasmosisToxoplasmosis
Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic disease caused by the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii. The parasite infects most genera of warm-blooded animals, including humans, but the primary host is the felid family. Animals are infected by eating infected meat, by ingestion of feces of a cat that has itself...
. Sean is also hospitalized. Willy visits Sean and is so terrified of becoming infected that he dons a surgical mask and protective gown and, when Sean kisses him on the neck, excuses himself to the bathroom to scrub the spot. Michael is also visiting Sean, bringing with him homeopathic
Homeopathy
Homeopathy is a form of alternative medicine in which practitioners claim to treat patients using highly diluted preparations that are believed to cause healthy people to exhibit symptoms that are similar to those exhibited by the patient...
preparations and a book by Louise Hay
Louise Hay
Louise Hay is an American motivational author, and the founder of Hay House, a publishing company. She has authored several New Thought self-help books, and is best known for her 1984 book, You Can Heal Your Life.-Biography:...
. Howard visits Paul and breaks down sobbing. Paul tries to reassure and comfort him.
March 22, 1985
Sean has deteriorated to the point of dementiaDementia
Dementia is a serious loss of cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging...
. David is helping with his writing and deceiving the studio into thinking that Sean is still able to work. Fuzzy tries to get Howard a movie role but the producer refuses to cast him because of the rumor that he has AIDS. Paul is back in the hospital following a seizure. David takes Sean for a walk but has to take him home when Sean urinates in a fountain. That night Willy catches Fuzzy checking himself for swollen glands and they talk about their fear of dying. "What do you think happens when we die?" Fuzzy asks. "We get to have sex again" is Willy's reply.
January 4, 1986
Sean has deteriorated to the point of near-catatonia and is in constant pain. He has to be strapped into his bed and has lost control of his bowels and bladder and has to wear adult diapers as a result. After sending Sean's nurse on an errand, David sits with Sean and tells him that it's all right to let go, to stop fighting to stay alive. Sean dies. Willy and Lisa come by to help David and they pick out a suit for Sean to wear to be cremated. Fuzzy calls Gay Men's Health CrisisGay Men's Health Crisis
The Gay Men's Health Crisis is a New York City-based non-profit, volunteer-supported and community-based AIDS service organization that has led the United States in the fight against AIDS.-1980s:...
to find a funeral home. In a rare moment of levity, Lisa and Willy stumble across a slinky red dress in Sean's closet and consider giving it to the undertaker. "What could they say", asks Willy, "if we said we knew him and we knew that's the way he wanted to be remembered?" Ultimately they decide against it, since "it needs a hat."
The four go to a Chinese restaurant to write Sean's obituary and include David as his "longtime companion."
May 16, 1987
David has died and this is the day of his memorial service. Bob and Willy eulogizeEulogy
A eulogy is a speech or writing in praise of a person or thing, especially one recently deceased or retired. Eulogies may be given as part of funeral services. However, some denominations either discourage or do not permit eulogies at services to maintain respect for traditions...
him.
September 10, 1988
Fuzzy and Lisa are volunteering answering phones at GMHC. Willy is a "buddy" to a GMHC client, Alberto.Howard has been diagnosed as being HIV positive. Although it's not mentioned, the presumption is that Paul has died. Howard exploits his remaining fame as a former soap opera star to raise money for AIDS causes by hosting a benefit which includes a performance by Finger Lakes Trio of the Village People
Village People
Village People is a concept disco group that formed in the United States in 1977, well known for their on-stage costumes depicting American cultural stereotypes, as well as their catchy tunes and suggestive lyrics....
song "YMCA
YMCA (song)
"Y.M.C.A." is a song recorded by American disco group Village People. It was released in 1978 as the only single from the album Cruisin. The song reached No. 2 on the U.S. charts in early 1979 and reached No.1 in the UK around the same time, becoming the group's biggest hit...
" performed in a pastiche of chamber music style.
July 19, 1989
Willy, Fuzzy and Lisa walk along the beach. While it is again unstated, the presumption is that Howard has died. They talk about an upcoming ACT UPAIDS Coalition to Unleash Power
AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power is an international direct action advocacy group working to impact the lives of people with AIDS and the AIDS pandemic to bring about legislation, medical research and treatment and policies to ultimately bring an end to the disease by mitigating loss of health and...
demonstration. They talk about remembering a time before AIDS and wonder about finding a cure. The film ends with a momentary fantasy sequence, with the friends and others lost to AIDS appearing with them on the beach, before they vanish again and the three are left to walk off the deserted beach while the song "Post-Mortem Bar", by Zane Campbell, plays on the soundtrack.
Cast
- Campbell ScottCampbell ScottCampbell Scott is an American actor, director, producer, and voice artist.-Life and career:Scott was born in New York City, the son of George C. Scott, an actor, director, and producer, and Colleen Dewhurst, a Canadian-born actress. He graduated from Lawrence University in 1983. His brother is...
as Willy - Patrick CassidyPatrick Cassidy (actor)Patrick Cassidy is an American actor best known for his roles in musical theatre and television.-Personal life:...
as Howard - John DossettJohn DossettJohn Dossett is an American actor and singer.-Early life and education:Dossett attended Mount Pleasant High School in Wilmington, Delaware from 1972 through 1976, where he was an announcer for the school's radio station, WMPH, and appeared in student theater productions.-Career:Dossett made his...
as Paul - Mary-Louise ParkerMary-Louise ParkerMary-Louise Parker is an American actress, known for her current lead role on Showtime's television series Weeds portraying Nancy Botwin, for which she has received several nominations and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in 2006...
as Lisa - Stephen CaffreyStephen Caffrey (actor)Stephen Edwin Caffrey is an American television, film and stage actor. He is the fifth of seven children born to an Irish-American family in Cleveland. His year of birth has been mistakenly cited as 1961, but he is two years older.At the age of 17 he and his family permanently settled in Chicago,...
as Fuzzy - Welker WhiteWelker WhiteWelker White is an American actress. She has appeared in feature films, television series and stage theatre.-Filmography:*Cedar Rapids as Diane Krogstad* A Dog Year as Brenda King* I Think I Love My Wife as Mary...
as Rochelle - Bruce DavisonBruce DavisonBruce Davison is an American actor and director.-Early life:Davison was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Marian E. , a secretary, and Clair W. Davison, a musician, architect, and draftsman for the Army Engineers. His parents divorced when he was three years old. He was raised by his...
as David - Mark LamosMark LamosMark Lamos is an American theatre and opera director, producer and actor. Under his direction, Hartford Stage won the 1989 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre and he has been nominated for two other Tonys...
as Sean - Dermot MulroneyDermot Mulroney-Early life:Mulroney was born in Alexandria, Virginia, the son of Ellen, a housewife and amateur actress originally from Manchester, Iowa, and Michael Mulroney, a law professor at Villanova University School of Law, originally from Elkader, Iowa. He has a sister, Moira, and three brothers, Conor,...
as John - Michael SchoefflingMichael SchoefflingMichael Schoeffling is an American former actor, and male model, best known for playing Jake Ryan in Sixteen Candles, Kuch in Vision Quest, and Joe in Mermaids.-Early life & education:...
as Michael - Brian Cousins as Bob
- Brent BarrettBrent BarrettBrent Barrett is an American actor and tenor who is mostly known for his work within American theatre. Barrett has performed in musicals and in concerts with theatres, symphony orchestras, opera houses, and concert halls internationally...
as Soap Actor - Dan ButlerDan ButlerDaniel Eugene "Dan" Butler is an American playwright and actor known for his role as Bob "Bulldog" Briscoe on the TV series Frasier.- Life and career :...
as Walter - Robi Martin as Transvestite
- Robert JoyRobert JoyRobert Joy is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as Dr. Sid Hammerback in CSI: NY and playing Charlie in Land of the Dead.-Early life:...
as Ron - Tony ShalhoubTony ShalhoubAnthony Marcus "Tony" Shalhoub is an American actor of Lebanese descent. His television work includes the roles of Antonio Scarpacci on Wings and sleuth Adrian Monk on the TV series Monk. He has won three Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe for his work in Monk...
as Paul's Doctor - David DrakeDavid Drake (actor)David Drake is an American playwright, stage director, actor and author. He is best-known as the author and original performer of The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me, for which he received a Village Voice Obie Award, a 1994 Drama-Logue Award for "Outstanding Solo Performance," and a Robbie Stevens...
as GMHC Volunteer - Michael CarmineMichael CarmineMichael Carmine was an American actor.Born in Brooklyn New York to Puerto Rican Parents, he graduated from the High School of the Performing Arts at the age of sixteen, and went on to study his craft at the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia...
as Alberto - Melora CreagerMelora CreagerMelora Creager, formerly Melora Mather, is an American cellist and singer-songwriter best known for her role as lead singer and chief composer of the cello rock trio Rasputina....
as Finger Lakes Trio - Jesse Hultberg as Finger Lakes Trio
- Lee Kimble as Finger Lakes Trio
Critical reception
The film received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics, with Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reporting that all 15 of the reviews they tallied were positive.
Awards and nominations
Longtime Companion garnered a number of awards and honors, many for the performance of Bruce DavisonBruce Davison
Bruce Davison is an American actor and director.-Early life:Davison was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Marian E. , a secretary, and Clair W. Davison, a musician, architect, and draftsman for the Army Engineers. His parents divorced when he was three years old. He was raised by his...
. In addition to his Oscar nomination, Davison won a Golden Globe award, an Independent Spirit Award, a National Society of Film Critics
National Society of Film Critics
The National Society of Film Critics is an American film critic organization. As of December 2007 the NSFC had approximately 60 members who wrote for a variety of weekly and daily newspapers.-History:...
award, and a New York Film Critics Circle award for Best Supporting Actor. Other awards and nominations include:
- Deauville Film Festival Critics Award - Norman René (nominated)
- GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Film (won)
- Political Film Society Award for Human RightsPolitical Film Society Award for Human RightsThe Political Film Society Award for human rights is given out each year to a film that deals with struggle for human rights in both fictional and non-fictional stories. This award has been handed out by the Society since 1987...
(nominated) - Sundance Film FestivalSundance Film FestivalThe Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
Audience Award - Dramatic (won) - Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize - Dramatic (nominated)
The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard
Un Certain Regard
Un Certain Regard is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's Official Selection. It is run at the Salle Debussy, parallel to the competition for the Palme d'Or.This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob...
section at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival
1990 Cannes Film Festival
- Jury :*Bernardo Bertolucci *Alexei Guerman *Anjelica Huston *Bertrand Blier *Christopher Hampton*Fanny Ardant *Françoise Giroud *Hayao Shibata *Mira Nair *Sven Nykvist...
.