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Jump to the good stuff: About An Early Frost | The Story | Some Thoughts | Final Verdict

About An Early Frost

An Early Frost is a 1985 made for television drama about AIDS. It received 14 Emmy nominations, including Best Original Teleplay, a Peabody Award, and multiple Golden Globe nominations. When it aired on November 11, 1985, it reached 34 million households, making it the highest rated show of the night.

The Story:

The movie opens with Michael Pierson (Aidan Quinn), a successful lawyer and closeted gay man, visiting his parents, Nick and Kate (Gena Rowlands and Ben Gazzara), and his sister, Susan (Sydney Walsh). They have dinner and it’s obvious that there’s something Michael isn’t telling them. Michael’s visit is short, and before leaving to catch his flight to Chicago, he tells his mother they didn’t have enough time to talk.

Back in Chicago, Michael’s lover, Peter (DW Moffett), asks Michael if he came out to his parents, to which Michael confesses that he hadn’t. While Peter has come out to his parents, Michael lives in the closet and is a source of contention in their relationship.

While at work, Michael begins coughing uncontrollably and is rushed to the hospital, where Michael gets admitted with pneumonia. The doctor orders lab tests and discover that he has AIDS. Peter tends to Michael, and Michael’s parents are told he’s recovering from pneumonia. While Kate is concerned, Nick assumes his son is healthy enough to overcome it.

It isn’t until Michael and Peter have a falling out that Michael goes home for another visit. And so, with the weight of the disease on his mind, he tells his parents that he has AIDS. Since AIDS was equated with being gay in 1985, he’s forced to come out of the closet. The news doesn’t go over well, and Nick lunges at Michael while Kate holds him back.

The rest of the movie deals with fear, forgiveness, and compassion. An Early Frost is able to do all of this without being preachy, mostly because there are no bad guys. It’s easy to see how Nick is hurt that his son felt like a stranger by not coming out sooner. Michael’s apprehension about telling his parents that he’s gay is valid. Susan’s fears of contracting the disease while she’s pregnant seem reasonable. The film succeeds by showing all the characters as flawed without demonizing them for their shortcomings.

In the end, An Early Frost is as much about forgiveness and acceptance as it is about AIDS and coming out. It’s not a perfect movie–read on to find out why–but it is worthy of its place in history.

Some Thoughts:

The purpose behind An Early Frost was to introduce AIDS and closeted gay men to a straight audience, for which it succeeded.

When Michael comes out to his parents in the backyard, his father becomes angry and lunges at his son while his mother seems perplexed. These were probably the two most common reactions people experienced when coming out to their parents. The film depicts Nick’s anger as a knee jerk reaction that can be overcome with conversation, compassion, and understanding on both sides. And the dialog between Michael and Nick always sounds real.

The shame and hurt people suffering from AIDS felt in the 1980s is on full display. Michael’s sister refuses to let her young son hug him. Susan stops visiting Michael when he’s home and uses her pregnancy as an excuse. Nick doesn’t want Michael to kiss his mother. When Michael is sick and needs an ambulance, the EMTs refuse to work on him when they discover he has AIDS. These scenes may feel out of touch today, but they were reality for many people living with AIDS in the 1980s. And sadly, they’re still around today, just not as common.

Although An Early Frost has star power in the cast, none of the actors are working at their full potential. Ben Gazzara and Gena Rowlands are much better actors than shown here. I found it a bit disappointing. The best acting comes from Sylvia Sidney, who plays the grandmother.

The Final Verdict:

An Early Frost is an important piece of queer cinema because it humanized the topic of AIDS for people who didn’t know anybody suffering from the disease. It had the star power to make people want to see it. It also allowed people to see themselves in the characters.

Although An Early Frost isn’t the best film, it’s worth watching for its historical significance. It was a groundbreaking movie in 1985, when the general public knew very little about AIDS and gay people were not as visible as they are today. It may not have removed the stigma surrounding people with AIDS, but it was viewed by 34 million households, so it had to have helped.