In the waiting room, Ned meets Sanford ( Stephen Spinella), a patient whose face and hands are marked with skin lesions caused by Kaposi's sarcoma, a rare cancer. All of these cases seem to be appearing in gay men. Back in the city, he visits the offices of Dr. Emma Brookner ( Julia Roberts), a physician who has seen many patients afflicted with symptoms of rare diseases that normally would be harmless unless their immune systems had been compromised. While traveling back to New York City, Ned reads an article in the New York Times titled 'Rare Cancer Diagnosed in 41 Homosexuals'. Later, when blowing out the candles on his birthday cake, Craig begins to cough repeatedly. While walking on the beach, however, Craig feels dizzy and collapses. Other friends in attendance include Mickey Marcus ( Joe Mantello) and the charismatic Bruce Niles ( Taylor Kitsch), who has recently begun dating Craig, who is young and appears to be in good health. Ned (Alexander) Weeks ( Mark Ruffalo) is an openly gay writer from New York City who travels to Fire Island via Long Island to celebrate the birthday of his friend Craig Donner ( Jonathan Groff) at a beach house. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray on August 26, 2014.

Their differences of opinion lead to arguments that threaten to undermine their shared goals. Weeks prefers public confrontations to the calmer, more private strategies favored by his associates, friends, and closeted lover Felix Turner (Bomer). The film depicts the rise of the HIV-AIDS crisis in New York City between 19, as seen through the eyes of writer/activist Ned Weeks (Ruffalo), the founder of a prominent HIV advocacy group.

The film stars Mark Ruffalo, Matt Bomer, Taylor Kitsch, Jim Parsons, Alfred Molina, Joe Mantello, Jonathan Groff, and Julia Roberts. The Normal Heart is a 2014 American television drama film directed by Ryan Murphy and written by Larry Kramer, based on his 1985 play of the same name.

The normal heart by larry kramer