The Normal Heart

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1

(SEAGULLS CALLING)

(WAVES CRASHING)

MAN:
Please prepare to exit the ferry.

(HORN BLARES)

MAN:
Attention, on deck.

We are now arriving at Fire Island Pines.

All right, welcome to Fire Island, everybody.

Please take care, exit slowly.

Those steps can be wet.

Also double-check

you have all your luggage...

Have a good day.

- Hey, Weeks!

- Hey, honey.

How you doing?

We're doing great.

Here we are!

What are you guys doing?

Hairy is out. Your turn, teddy bear.

No. No. I love my teddy.

- Calvin Klein would not approve.

- NED:
Oh.

The baseball game is on

and my summer has officially begun.

The thing is he actually means it.

- Hey, baby.

- How are ya?

- You want a beer?

- Nah, I've already had a couple.

Nice stripes, Lieutenant. Hot.

Oh, please. Captain.

Just got back from the reserves.

You know what they say.

Once a month, I get to play a real man.

Ooh. I haven't seen you at the gym lately.

Bruce!

- Your turn, Bruce.

- What? What?

Brucey, please.

Don't embarrass our house at the beach, hon.

Uh-oh. (SIGHS)

You gotta do it.

You know what they say, Ned.

If you can't beat 'em,

Join 'em!

That's my guy-

Craig was miserable

when you weren't interested.

Now look, he's got Robert Redford.

It shows you there is a god.

How's John?

- John?

- John.

Oh, John! No, I'm with Gregory now.

We're celebrating our 15th month anniversary.

Fifteen... That's a long time for you, Mickey.

Oh, please! We're lovers and we live together.

It's not like we're faithful to each other, too.

He's not even Jewish.

Don't tell my rabbi.

(MEN GRUNTING)

- Oh, my God.

- (BOTH LAUGHING)

- Hey, Weeks! You suck!

- (POP MUSIC PLAYING)

Why do you even come here anymore?

We don't want you.

(MEN LAUGHING)

You made us look terrible in your novel.

Look around you. Sex is liberating.

NED:
All I said was having so much sex

makes finding love impossible.

Do not put your failure to find someone

on the rest of us.

BRUCE:
Neddy!

- Ow!

- Oh, jeez.

(COUGHING)

Oh, my God!

(COUGHS)

Guys!

Hey, what happened?

- Are you okay?

- I'm okay.

I just got a little light-headed.

I got myself up. I'm fine.

I think I just got a little dizzy.

Does he seem okay?

MEN:
(SINGING) Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday, dear Craig!

Happy birthday to you!

Blow!

He's good at that!

(ALL LAUGHING)

(ALL CHEERING)

(COUGHING)

(UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING)

I f***ing love this place!

(CHEERING)

(MUSIC CONTINUES)

(YOU MAKE ME FEEL PLAYING)

Hey, Ned!

Come on. Please?

(THUNDER RUMBLING)

(FAINT MOANING)

(SIGHS)

I sold you a ceramic pig once

at Maison France on Bleecker Street.

I'm Sanford.

Yes, I remember.

Somebody I was friends with then

collected pigs

and you had the biggest pig

I'd ever seen outside a real pig.

(CHUCKLES)

They just keep getting bigger

and won't go away.

I'm her 20th case.

And six of them are dead.

(DOOR OPENS)

Hey, Ned, won't be a minute.

Hey, Buzzy, I didn't know you worked here.

- (FAINT WHIRRING)

- BROOKNER:
Who are you?

Uh, Ned Weeks.

I spoke to you after The Times article.

Come in. Take your clothes off.

I only came to ask some questions.

- You are gay, aren't you?

- Yes.

Take your clothes off. Don't be nervous.

I've seen more men than you have.

BROOKNER:
To answer all of your questions,

I don't know.

I've never seen or heard of anything like this.

Have you had any of the symptoms?

Most of the sh*t The Times said,

amoebas, gonorrhea, hepatitis.

You don't know what it's been like

since the sexual revolution.

What makes you think I don't?

Any fever, night sweats, weight loss?

Don't I wish.

No.

And purple lesions? Open your mouth.

It's a cancer.

There's a strange reaction

in the immune system.

It's collapsed.

Won't fight, so the diseases

most of my patients are coming down with

are brought on by germs

that wouldn't hurt a baby.

Ticklish.

At least not a baby in New York City, anyway.

I mean, the immune system

is the system we know the least about.

So where's this big mouth I hear you've got?

Is big mouth a symptom?

No. It's a cure.

This seems to only be happening to gay men.

Buzzy says you are well-known

in the gay community

and not afraid to say what you think.

- (DOOR OPENS)

- I can't find any gay leaders,

and I call gay organizations,

no one ever calls me back.

Dr. Brookner, no one with half a brain

gets involved with gay politics.

- There's no room for criticism.

- What's your criticism?

I hate that we play victim when many of us,

most of us don't have to.

Then you're exactly what's needed now.

Maybe they're just waiting for someone

to lead them.

I don't want to lead them.

What exactly are you trying to get me to do?

Tell gay men to stop having sex.

Do you think that this cancer

is sexually transmitted?

I think it is, yes.

Can I prove it yet? No.

Do you realize that you're talking about

millions of men

who have singled out promiscuity

as their principal political agenda?

How do you deal with that?

Tell them they may die.

- Where?

- Down the hall! Down the hall!

NED:
It's not that simple.

It's more complicated than that.

They think sex is all they have.

Mr. Weeks, if having sex can kill you,

doesn't anyone with half a brain

stop f***ing?

You can go.

I'm not finding what I'm looking for here.

- (ELEVATOR BELL DINGS)

- (DOORS SLAM)

BRUCE:
Where is she?

MICKEY:
Open up!

- Where? Where?

- Right in that room.

- Easy! Easy!

- Just put him up on the table.

Up here.

Just try to hold him.

- Baby!

- Easy! Be still.

- BUZZY:
Can you tell me what happened?

- (MUFFLED GROANING)

We were meeting him outside.

We turned the corner, he just collapsed.

(TIRES SCREECHING)

(HONKING)

MAN:
Jesus!

Hey, get the f*** outta the street!

(PANTING)

Baby!

Oh, my God.

Help!

- (SIREN BLARING)

- (SOBBING)

- Who's the lover?

- BRUCE:
lam, ma'am.

- What's your name?

- Bruce Niles.

- Brookner, I need a room immediately.

- (MUFFLED SCREAMING)

Niles, you were Reinhardt's boyfriend?

Yes, ma'am. How do you know that?

He died three weeks ago.

(DOOR SLAMS)

(SIRENS ECHOING)

(SIGHS)

They wouldn't even let me say goodbye.

Not even let me kiss him goodbye.

He's dead?

I'm so sorry.

It can happen this fast?

N just did.

We have to do something.

No one else will.

MICKEY:
What are we supposed to do?

MORTON:
You make these assumptions

on the basis of 46 cases!

You wanted to know what I think.

This is what I think.

You are all going to infect each other.

(CLAMORING)

Now only a few of you have.

Unfortunately, we can't tell yet which ones.

Long before we isolated the hepatitis viruses,

we knew about the diseases they caused

and how they got around!

Where are the medical journals? The Times?

I sent my first report to the medical journals

over a year ago.

Excuse me, how do you know

what you're looking for,

real quick,

if you don't know what you're looking for?

I'm sorry. I guess that's a dumb question.

No, it isn't.

It's the smartest question of all

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