POZ

Author(s): James Somerton (Canada)
POZ

Directed by: Tim Van Patten
Written By: Steven Knight

Main Cast:

Jeffrey Wright as Robert Pyke
William H. Macy as Anthony Ferris
Chandra Wilson as Helen Myers
Julie Dreyfus as Madeline Hawkings
Ashley MacIsaac as Christopher Gainly

Tagline: "Is It Murder?"

Synopsis: The courtroom is silent as Robert Pyke takes the stand. Madeline Hawkings, the prosecutor, stands up and approaches the bench as her client, Helen Myers, stares coldly at Pyke. Anthony Ferris, Pyke's attorney, can feel his heart racing as Hawkings prepares to speak. Madeline rests her arm on the bench and says, "Mr Pyke, was it your intention to infect my client with HIV when you slept with her?". To which he replies, "Yes."

About a year before the trial, Robert Pyke had been diagnosed with HIV. He kept it hidden from everyone, especially his sexual partners. And being an advertising executive at a major firm, he couldn't risk them finding out. The only person who knew about it was his doctor. But even he didn't know what Pyke was up to in his spare time.

Always the ladies man, Pyke was out every night, putting notch after notch in his headboard. Infecting so many women with this virus. Now sitting in a packed courtroom, the majority of the women he had infected probably still didn't know he had done it. But now the one woman who had figured it out was staring him dead in the face from across the room.

Helen Myers was anything but dumb. Having received her PHD in computer programming, she had been working for Apple Computers until a few weeks ago, when she was forced to take a leave of absence. She had found out about the infection during a routine physical and, instead of feeling sorry for herself, immediately began to track down who could have infected her. Having been good friends with a prosecutor, Madeline Hawkings, she was able to fast-track a trial once she had figure out that it had been Pyke.

But this is a trial less about Pyke's guilt than the definition of what his actions were. Helen Myers and her attorney want him tried for attempted murder while Pyke's lawyer wants the case tried as a simple case of reckless conduct. The trial proceeds with testimonies by therapists, doctors, HIV specialists, and acquaintances of Pyke's. But now the star witness, Pyke himself, is in the hospital. The HIV infection has advanced to AIDS and it is mutating rapidly. Any verdict now could be too late.

What the press would say:

"Do I feel sorry for you? No. Do I want you to die? No. But only because that would mean I'm going to die too." This line, spoken by Chandra Wilson near the end of "POZ", encapsulates the atmosphere of this film. Here we are shown characters so drawn in by their own hell that they fail to see what others may be going through. The character that most exemplifies this is Robert Pyke, an advertising executive whose freewheeling ways lead to him contracting one of the most feared diseases in the world. Played by Jerffrey Wright, Pyke relives the last year of his life as he hears testimony in a courtroom. Jeffrey Wright's performance will take your breath away as, possibly, one of the most spiteful characters in film history. His Robert Pyke is a sour man, so drawn into his own bad fortune that he feels he must spread the pain. The only way he can live with himself is to infect as many women with this "thing" that he can. He is cold and indifferent to his actions, and completely believes that he's justified. Through his flashbacks, we watch him degrade from a charming executive to a deplorable louse. Finally he is made to pay for his actions by Helen Myers, a woman who he has infected. She, unlike the other women, had been tested and put two and two together. Now she's out for his blood. In a roll that is simultaneously sympathetic and venomous, Chandra Wilson brings Helen Myers to life. When she is speaking with her attorney, or to the press, you feel terrible for her. Her life had been nearly perfect before that night she spent with Pyke. A well respected computer programmer, Helen hadn't exactly had a sex life in years so she was more than happy to take Pyke up on his offer at a singles gathering. Now she regrets it with all her soul. Contrast to this is the Helen Myers we see in the courtroom, her eyes staring holes through Pyke's cold exterior. Everything with the trial seems to be going in her favor until Pyke lands in the hospital and a mistrial is declared because he is medically unable to defend himself.

Now we finally get to see Pyke break his facade. He's dying in that hospital bed and he knows it. Now he finally realizes what he has done; that so many people are going to have to go through this because of him. Jeffrey Wright truly shines now as the pain of his body radiates from him. His performance is masterful, gut wrenching, and heartfelt. The film shifts now and we feel sorry for Pyke, or at least a little bit. He has driven everyone away from him so now there is no one at his bedside. Even his own lawyer, played to understated perfection by William H. Macy, won't visit him. Nightly visits by a gay nurse named Christopher are anything but comforting. As he writhes in pain, Christopher teases him with painkillers. "You know, if you were a gay man, there never would have been a trial. You would have been hung out to dry without any chance to defend yourself," Christopher tells him on one rainy night before administering the morphine. The next day, Pyke receives his first visitor, even though a severe throat infection has rendered him mute. Helen Myers has come to confront him face to face. The lawsuit is over and she needs some finalization. When you're watching this scene it becomes impossible to take your eyes off the screen. Jeffrey Wright and Chandra Wilson's performances here are startling. "You go through life and you see all these other people's pain. But you think your invincible. You think you're immune. Until you wake up one day and God slaps you in the face with something like this." After a deep breath, she looks back at Pyke and says, "I hate you. I hate you so goddamn much, but you can't die. Because even though you shouldn't be allowed to live anymore, you got to give us some hope. Me and all those other women. Give us some hope. That we might make it through this. You took so much away, you can at least give us that." When Helen leaves the hospital, fighting back tears after seeing her own eventual demise in front of her, we are made to sit with Robert Pyke as he silently contemplates what Helen has said.

"POZ" is a film that truly makes you think. What is the proper punishment for a man like Robert Pyke? Would time in jail really mean anything to him now? Is there really justice for this kind of crime? Screenwriter Steven Knight and director Tim Van Patten ask these big questions and leave us to answer them for ourselves. They bring us through a dark, twisting maze of flawed characters and terrible judgement, but don't escort us to the exit. We need to find our own way out. "POZ" isn't a film for everyone. It's scarier than a lot of horror movies, as it shows just what can happen to you when your a little bit irresponsible. It terrifies you, and then forces you to face the reality. It angers you by what Pyke has done. And then it makes you evan angrier at yourself when you feel sorry for him. "POZ" will stay with you for a very long time. It's nearly impossible to shake once you've seen it. Like the disease itself.

POSSIBLE NOMINATIONS
Best Picture
Best Director - Tim Van Patten
Best Actor - Jeffrey Wright
Best Supporting Actress - Chandra Wilson
Best Original Screenplay - Steven Knight