Kinsey (2004)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Bill Condon

Writer (WGA):

Bill Condon (written by)

Release Date:

13 January 2005 (Australia)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

Let's talk about sex.

Plot:

A look at the life of Alfred Kinsey (Neeson), a pioneer in the area of human sexuality research, whose 1948 publication "Sexual Behavior in the Human Male" was one of the first recorded works that saw science address sexual behavior.

Plot Keywords:

Sex | Student | Interview | Science | Homosexual

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 11 wins & 26 nominations

Cast

Liam Neeson	...	Alfred Kinsey
Laura Linney	...	Clara McMillen
Chris O'Donnell	...	Wardell Pomeroy
Peter Sarsgaard	...	Clyde Martin
Timothy Hutton	...	Paul Gebhard
John Lithgow	...	Alfred Seguine Kinsey
Tim Curry	...	Thurman Rice
Oliver Platt	...	Herman Wells
Dylan Baker	...	Alan Gregg
Julianne Nicholson	...	Alice Martin
William Sadler	...	Kenneth Braun
John McMartin	...	Huntington Hartford
Veronica Cartwright	...	Sara Kinsey
Kathleen Chalfant	...	Barbara Merkle
Heather Goldenhersh	...	Martha Pomeroy

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive sexual content, including some graphic images and descriptions.

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English | Slovenian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Japan:R-15 | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Iceland:14 | USA:R (certificate #40544) | Spain:18 | USA:TV-MA (TV rating) | New Zealand:R16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Brazil:16 | Canada:13+ (Québec) | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:18A (Manitoba) | Chile:14 | Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:III | Ireland:16 | Malaysia:(Banned) | Netherlands:16 | Norway:11 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:R21 | South Korea:18 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Zurich) | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Bloomfield, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Fox Searchlight Pictures

Trivia:

Bill Condon interviewed many of Dr. Alfred Kinsey's colleagues before he started writing the script.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: About 25 minutes into film someone plays Chopin Etude #1 in A flat. The notes do not match what is being played. Only part of the keyboard is seen but the right hand seems to be playing an octave lower than the notes.

Quotes:

Clyde Martin: You know, this thing between Prok and me was fine for a while, but I guess I just really miss sleeping with women.
Alfred Kinsey: That's perfectly understandable. It's clear from your history you have a greater sexual interest in women than men.
Clyde Martin: Good. Then you wont mind if I ask Mac to have sex with me. Only if it appeals to you, of course.
Clara McMillen: Would it be separately or together?
Clyde Martin: Oh, no, definitely just you and I.
Clara McMillen: I think I might like that. What do you think, Prok?

Movie Connections:

References Rear Window (1954)

Soundtrack:

Dixie Swing

Two-Disc DVD Set Showcases How the Sexual Revolution Began in a Fascinating Biopic

Since its publication sixty years ago, the first Kinsey Report (real title: "Sexual Behavior of the Human Male") has taken on mythic proportions for its groundbreaking look at never-before-examined human sexual habits. Dr. Alfred Kinsey is certainly worthy of a film biopic, and writer-director Bill Condon embraces the idea with a healthy respect for his subject, a strong sense of period atmosphere, and the same wry sense of humor he displayed in his fanciful James Whale tale, "Gods and Monsters". Condon effectively uses as a black-and-white framing device, the preparation for the interview process by which Kinsey and his staff surveyed people about their sexual habits. The director shows how Kinsey painstakingly teaches his research team how to get their hundreds of interview subjects to open up and speak freely about their sexual histories and as a result, revolutionized the way we think about sex. The 2004 film doesn't shy away from the double standards that exist to this day regarding the candor and explicitness of Kinsey's findings.

What resonates most is how Kinsey strove to break down barriers and taboos and social conventions, while continuing to be a flashpoint for the religious right as the instigator of the sexual revolution and the downfall of morality. The acting by the two leads is superb and unexpected. Liam Neeson gives a fierce and fearless performance in the title role, an obsessive-compulsive biologist who doesn't bat an eyelash when he translates the methodology he used in studying gall wasps into his forbidding survey of human sexuality. Neeson pitches his characterization between eccentric and megalomaniac and lets the doctor's maddening genius pour out of him without caution. As his plainspoken wife, Clara McMillen, Laura Linney imbues what could have been a passive role with a searching intelligence as she willingly stands by her brilliant husband but not without injecting her own sensibilities into their marriage. She and Neeson manage a terrific rapport based on a mutual respect and intellectual fascination. They play out their first sexual experience with honesty and conviction, though truthfully, both are way too long in the tooth to be credible as college students early in the story.

Peter Sarsgaard gives a subtle, often incisive portrayal of Clyde Martin, the bisexual researcher who successfully seduces both Kinsey and his wife but ultimately falters when he marries and finds his wife cheating on him. As Clyde's fellow research colleagues, Chris O'Donnell is the swaggering Wardell Pomeroy and Timothy Hutton is the slick, mustachioed Paul Gebhard, but neither leaves that much of an impression since their characters are designed as male archetypes rather than full-blooded characters. Oliver Platt plays his usually facile, comic self as Kinsey's one consistent supporter, Indiana University president Herman Wells, especially when Kinsey's work became too notorious for public figures to become sponsors or even to associate with him. Tim Curry seems to be making fun of his own Rocky Horror past by playing an uptight professor jealous of Kinsey's success. In little more than cameo roles that turn into memorable turns, the film includes William Sadler as a sexual satyr, John McMartin as philanthropist Huntington Hartford and Lynn Redgrave as a lesbian thankful to Kinsey for his research.

The one presumptive flaw of the film is the expectation that the viewer is already aware of the full historical context of Kinsey's work. More exposition would have been helpful. The weakest scenes, however, are the predictably drawn flashbacks to Kinsey's childhood, when he experienced an unfulfilled crush on an Eagle Scout, masturbated in shame, and eventually left home in rebellion against a brutally puritanical father. The father is played with fire-and-brimstone fury by John Lithgow, who seems to be channeling the same role he played in "Footloose" twenty years ago. The scene where he reveals his own sexual secrets years later with his son seems particularly contrived. The film also falters somewhat during the darker denouement after Kinsey falls ill. Regardless, the primary story is successful in stirring passion and sparking debate just exactly Kinsey would have wanted.

The two-disc 2005 DVD set offers solid extras. Disc One provides the film along with an optional commentary from Condon. He is informative without being pedantic about not only the topic, especially the inhibitions that exist to this day about sex, but also the complexities of the production. The centerpiece of Disc Two is the ninety-minute documentary, "The Kinsey Report: Sex on Film". It is admittedly comprehensive delving into specifics about Kinsey, his research institute, the production, and of course, sex. There are 21 deleted scenes, some quite fascinating, that amount to the length of a second film. Also included are a brief gag reel, theatrical and teaser trailers for the movie, a tour of the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction, and a 45-question interactive sex questionnaire. Highly recommended despite its flaws for anyone interested in how the so-called sexual revolution started.