HBO has released a new, full-length The Normal Heart trailer for director Ryan Murphy’s (Glee, American Horror Story) adaptation of the Tony Award-winning Larry Kramer stage play.  The film follows the HIV/AIDS crisis in New York City in the early 1980s, and it looks at the nation’s sexual politics as gay activists and their allies in the medical community fought to expose the truth about the burgeoning epidemic to a city and nation in denial.  Though Murphy is a bit hit and miss (his last two films were Running with Scissors and Eat, Pray, Love), I’m encouraged by The Normal Heart’s stellar ensemble cast and the fact that Kramer penned the screenplay.  Mark Ruffalo and Taylor Kitsch, in particular, look to be standouts, and the tone feels reminiscent of the heartwrenching documentary How to Survive a Plague, in which Kramer plays an integral role.

Hit the jump to watch the full-length The Normal Heart trailer.  The film also stars Matt Bomer, Jim Parsons, Alfred Molina, Jonathan Groff, Denis O’Hare, Corey Stoll, and Julia RobertsThe Normal Heart premieres on HBO Sunday, May 25th at 9pm ET/PT.

Here’s the official synopsis for The Normal Heart:

Directed by Emmy® winner Ryan Murphy (“Eat Pray Love,” “Glee”) and written by Academy Award® nominee Larry Kramer (“Women in Love”), adapting his groundbreaking Tony Award-winning play of the same name, the drama tells the story of the onset of the HIV-AIDS crisis in New York City in the early 1980s, taking an unflinching look at the nation’s sexual politics as gay activists and their allies in the medical community fight to expose the truth about the burgeoning epidemic to a city and nation in denial.

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