Kinsey
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Movie Reviews of Kinsey
Movie Review: Reexperiencing a Sexual Revolution
Summary: 4 Stars
Kinsey deals with the very powerful and very important subject matter of how human sexuality is treated in American Culture. It is a timely message given the current atmosphere of moralism in America and the amount of governmental funding going into abstinence-only education programs that often contain faulty information (one such "fact" taught is that HIV can be contracted from human sweat and tears). This movie underlines the importance of the necessity of an accurate understanding of human sexuality, a lesson not quite grasped even fifty years after Alfred Kinsey's (Liam Neeson) work. In relaying the message, however, the movie does come across as a little preachy at times. It is a well crafted message, but like most commentary, it serves better to preach to the choir than to actually convince someone to change their opinion. The humorous, it was probably not particularly useful to include an easily mockable conservative character in the form of Prof. Thurman Rice (played, ironically enough, by Tim Curry). I was also a little put off by a scene later in the movie in which Kinsey and his assistant are interviewing Kenneth Braun (William Sadler), in which Kinsey's assistant leaves the room in outrage during the description of sexual activity with minors. That particular moment seemed to indicate that the movie was trying to hedge its bets a bit and Kinsey's response to the incident seems to assume certain conditions about the events being described that weren't necessarily true. I think the movie could have benefitted by the removal of that scene.
I was a bit disappointed by the apparent emphasis on male sexuality throughout the movie. This is certainly the case with the amount of time and storytelling devoted the both the research leading up to and the socio-political aftermath of Kinsey's book on male sexuality in comparison to the paltry effort spent by the movie on Kinsey's book on female sexuality. Certainly the montage of research shown in the first case needn't be repeated, but more could've been done on the aftermath of the book on female sexuality consider that shook even more ground than the book on male sexuality. This was made up a little bit towards the end when Kinsey sat down with his final interview subject (Lynn Redgrave). It was a powerful, emotional scene evincing the importance of Kinsey's work, especially the book on female sexuality. However, the acknowledgement was a little too late, and though compelling, hardly deals with the full breadth of the issue necessary.
The biographical aspects to Kinsey's life were quite well done. Particularly well played out was Kinsey's relationship with his father (John Lithgow) especially further into the movie when his father reveals key secrets from his past to Kinsey. This is further defined by difficulties Kinsey has with his own son in certain scenes of the movie. His son is the only family member living outside of this seemingly bohemian existence that the rest of his family lives in, as made very apparent at the dinner table with his daughters. The relationship with his wife Clara "Mac" (Laura Linney) is even more important and provides a central theme throughout the movie. One of the things Kinsey tries very hard to ignore is the interrelation of sex with emotion; it is lost in his very dry and clinical survey of the subject matter. His relationship with his wife serves as the primary grounding point and reminder that sex and emotion cannot be so easily separated. Several other scenes back up this point, and I applaud this as it is an important side message of the movie.
Lastly, I wish to complement the acting and direction of the of the movie with particular praise going to Liam Neeson and Laura Linney for their lead roles. The variety of supporting actors also add important things to the movie as well and each does a very good job of supporting both the story and the leads. The direction was also well done, and, aside from a few bumps, the flow of the movie works well. I was also attentive to the excellent job done with make-up, costuming and scenery to indicate the passage of time throughout the film. It was equally impressive to the job done in "A Beautiful Mind" (which, naturally, I was quite taken by). Absolutely amazing, however, was the dynamic created between Neeson and Linney. It was a dynamic that proved pivotal to the development of the story and a couple of the themes. There was hardly a better choice for the two roles.
This is certainly a movie that everyone should watch and examine thoroughly. It carries several important messages that need to be individually digested, and it certainly provokes thought and discussion about issues of sexuality, and, in particular, the study and education of such material, which is absolutely critical to our societal development at the juncture we are at now.
Movie Review: When it comes to love, we are all in the dark
Summary: 4 Stars
Liam Neeson and Laura Linney are superb as Alfred Kinsey and Claire McMillen, a scientist and his understanding wife. Though Alfred Kinsey was a brilliant scientist who collected and catalogued thousands of gall wasps, and wasn't too shabby on the piano, either, even the smartest people have blind spots. One of his was that he couldn't accept that his son was more interested in athletics than science, and he was repeating the pattern of his own father, who also tried to force him into a mold that he didn't fit. Mac, his wife, played by Laura Linney, could see this plainly, as well as many other quirks and blind spots, but she loved him just the same. For instance, when he turned his attention from wasps to human sexuality she could see that the reaction of society at large would make things very difficult, but she stood by him nevertheless. Linney is very good at playing the understanding wife, as her performance as Abigail Adams in John Adams adamantly demonstrates.
"Kinsey" paints a portrait of a scientist, and it also places him in an historical context that shows how his groundbreaking work changed things forever. Kinsey thought he was a rational scientist who just wanted to measure and record things, but with a subject like human sexuality he was opening a Pandora's Box that would have a devastating effect on him, his family, and his colleagues on the project; not to mention the country, and the whole world. Such a provocative subject made for a fascinating film.
Along with the excellent performances by the two leads there was ample support from John Lithgow, as Kinsey's father; and Tim Curry, who played Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the cult film "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" in an ironic twist, as a priggish professor who undercuts the progressive ideas of Kinsey at every opportunity. Oliver Platt plays a more supportive faculty member. Peter Sarsgaard, Timothy Hutton, and Chris O'Donnell play research assistants who can't help but bring their work home on occasion.
Alfred Kinsey: Mac, did I ever tell you about the Mbeere?
Clara McMillen: No, not that I recall.
Alfred Kinsey: They're an ancient East African tribe. They believe that trees are imperfect men... eternally bemoaning their imprisonment. The roots that keep them stuck in one place. But I've never seen a discontented tree. Look at this one! The way its roots are gripping the ground. I believe it really loves it.
Ah, sweet mystery of life. I wonder what Alfred Kinsey would have thought of this film. I'll bet you that he would have liked it, especially the performances of Liam Neeson and Laura Linney.
Reporter: Any plans on a Hollywood picture based on the book?
Alfred Kinsey: I can't think of anything more pointless.
Jindabyne (2006) Laura Linney was Claire
The Squid and the Whale (Special Edition) (2005) Laura Linney was Joan Berkman
Beautiful Girls (1996) Timothy Hutton was Willie Conway
Nell (1994) Liam Neeson was Jerome Lovell
Indecent Proposal (1993) Oliver Platt was Jeremy
Scent of a Woman (1992) Chris O'Donnell was Charlie Simms
Postcards from the Edge (1990) Oliver Platt was Neil Bleene
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension (1984) John Lithgow was Lord John Whorfin / Dr. Emilio Lizardo
Footloose (1984) John Lithgow was Reverend Shaw Moore
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Widescreen Edition) (1975) Tim Curry was Dr. Frank-N-Furter - A Scientist
Alfred Kinsey: When it comes to love, we are all in the dark.
Movie Review: Sexual Revolution Begins in Earnest in Fascinating Biopic
Summary: 4 Stars
Since its publication 56 years ago, the 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. But Condon does not 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, and yet, he continues to be a flashpoint for the religious right as the instigator of the sexual revolution and the downfall of morality. One rather major flaw with the film is that Condon chose not to provide more of the historical context of Kinsey's work for the uninitiated, much is assumed on the part of the viewer. The film also falters somewhat during the darker denouement after Kinsey falls ill, but overall it's a story that stirs passion and initiates debate. Just exactly Kinsey would have wanted.
The acting by the two leads is superb and unexpected. Liam Neeson gives a fierce, 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 continues to solidify her reputation as one of our finest actresses. She 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. Critics' darling Peter Sarsgaard seems to be continuing his upward career trajectory with his 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.
Familiar faces round out the cast and not always for the better. 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. I think the weakest scenes in the film 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. And 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. Highly recommended despite its flaws for anyone interested in how the so-called sexual revolution started.
Movie Review: KINSEY - A Man Who Changed Our Sexual Mores - Brilliantly Acted!
Summary: 4 Stars
Liam Neeson delivers an extraordinary performance as Dr. Alfred Kinsey, the man generally regarded as the father of sexology, which is the systematic, scientific study of human sexuality. The biologist/entomologist/zoologist's groundbreaking 1948 publication, "Sexual Behavior in the Human Male," and his 1953 study "Sexual Behavior in the Human Female," generated tremendous controversy throughout post-World War II America. His research on human sexuality profoundly influenced social and cultural values in the United States especially in the late 1960's, and was an important influence on the sexual revolution. Laura Linney, as Kinsey's wife Clara, is equally superb, as are writer-director Bill Condon's, ("Gods and Monsters"), creative efforts. Condon effectively captures the complex person who was Alfred Kinsey, with all his inconsistencies, as a man and as a scientist.
Kinsey conducted his studies, which had never been performed before, because he felt so strongly that some kind of "hard evidence" was needed to inform the pubic about sexuality and "normalcy," especially given the untruths and rumors about this topic which so effects all of our lives. Before Kinsey's studies, most information that was circulated about sex was born of ignorance, prudishness and religious zealotry. People do not realize today how naive, confused, and forgive me, but absolutely ignorant, many were in the 1930's, 40's, and 50's about sex. Misconceptions far outnumbered accurate information. These untruths had negative, sometimes disastrous repercussions on many marriages. The sociological aspects of the film are as interesting as the biographical.
Kinsey's early years are portrayed with accuracy and sensitivity. The son of a rigid, authoritarian engineering professor and Sunday preacher, (a downright nasty person, actually), Kinsey eventually rebelled and left engineering school and home, against his father's wishes, to become a Harvard-educated zoologist obsessed with the gall wasp. Kinsey's obsessive behavior is one of his major characteristics, which director Condon occasionally gives a humorous slant to. Also brought out in the film is Kinsey's sickly and lonely boyhood, and his love of the natural world, where he found emotional as well as physical release through hiking, climbing, swimming and observing creatures in the wild. He is given the nickname Prok, (PROfessor K), while teaching at the University of Indiana, where he meets his Clara (McMillan), a warm, witty wonderful woman who loves him enough to be patient and understanding with his genius.
Both are virgins on their wedding night, and uninformed about sex except for the basics. Their difficulties and the manner in which they resolve them, turn Kinsey's focus from the wasp to human sexuality. He recruits a team of researchers, among whom are Clyde Martin (Peter Sarsgaard), Wardell Pomeroy (Chris O'Donnell), and Paul Gebhard (Timothy Hutton), who all excel in their roles.
Although much of the bio-pic deals with the research, this is anything but boring cinema! The sheer chemistry between Linney and Neeson, who have worked together before, is palpable. Together they make it obvious that while love cannot be measured scientifically, deep abiding love, which endures, is what counts ...and lasts!
There is a cameo appearance by Lynn Redgrave in "Kinsey" which is as moving as it is meaningful. It earned her an Academy Award nomination. On a personal note, I was a kid in the 1950's and early 60s, and remember clearly my early, basic sexual education (outside the home - not from my relatively open parents), and society's prudishness, (from my small window), about all things sexual. Even though I grew up in a home with "liberal views" about providing accurate sexual information, one picks up a lot from one's peers. Many of the young men I dated, although they definitely pushed for premarital sex, only wanted to marry virgins. And both male and female friends thought a variety of sexual practices, which we now consider quite "normal," were bizarre. Kinsey's studies, and the changes in sexual attitudes and mores in the late 1960's and 1970's, were and are so beneficial to our society. I am not talking about promiscuity, or even about pre-marital sex. I am talking about the freedom to discuss, with little or no inhibition, sexual matters with friends and mates.
A really good film, very informative and brilliantly acted and directed.
JANA
Movie Review: You must see this!
Summary: 4 Stars
I liked this movie, but I have to mention the big flaw first. In human sexuality courses that I took, I was always told that Kinsey excluded black people from his research. Some say he did it innocently because he felt that he didn't have a large enough sample. Please see Brett Beemyn's book "Queer Subjects" for more info on this. So it's odd that this film shows a black man and a black woman telling of their sexual experience. This is diversity we love and expect now, but it probably wasn't the case during the pre-Civil Rights and post-Reconstruction era. If people can fault "A Beautiful Mind" for its erasure of bisexuality, then they must note the inaccuracy taking place in this film.
People will be thrilled by this film. When I saw it, the audience cracked up at the humor and clapped heartily at the end. Visually, this film looks just like Norman Rockwell's paintings. Literally, it's fascinating hearing conservative, prudish people talking about explicit subjects. This film is both innocent and risque, just like "Grease." This is a fascinationg study of Michel Foucault's repressive hypothesis.
It's about time that someone made this film. The world must thank Kinsey for showing that sexuality can be studied scientifically. So much of marital counseling, pro-choice options, and gay rights would not have happened without him. He is a godfather for both sex education classes and gay studies. I would add feminism too. This movie shows how studying men sexually was somewhat acceptable, but Kinsey was punished for studying women. This double-standard is one of the points where I was most heartbroken in the film. Neesom effectively shows how determined Kinsey was. This made for a dynamic look at the actions and minds of geniuses and pioneers.
Believe it or not, many people will be able to put themselves in Kinsey's shoes. This film shows how hard it is for any fundraiser (whether for non-profits or for research) to pay for their work or make their goals happen. This also shows the difficulty in trying to not get wrapped up into that which you are studying. It also shows how scientists do not want to have their research just sit in outer space; they want to affect policy, to have their results mean something outside of the library. It explores the difficulty in facing the fire without getting burnt.
In this film, we see how Kinsey did so much that would help gay men and lesbians, but it was also just one of many subjects that he broached. This film shows gays, bisexuals, and heterosexuals in a positive light. No one will be offended. Also, there is a love triangle in this film where all 3 persons (of both biological sexes, and different sexual identities) have agency and choice, are made to look good.
The actors here are amazing. Tim Curry plays a prudish professor. It's almost the exact opposite of his Frankenfurter role from "Rocky Horror." Still, he manages to be the character, again, that audiences love to hate. Equally important, John Lithgow shows his incredible acting range. I associate him with his friendly, wholesome telephone ads. However, his roles in this movie, "Garp," and "RIcochet" show that he is great at pushing the envelope and exploring many provocative roles. Chris O'Donnell does go outside of his typical, boyish roles, but I think he could have done more.
This film is sexy, but not obscene at all. There are things that Kinsey and his research assistants do that would now be considered unethical. Still, Neeson's emaciated, oily body could not ever be deemed erotic. For some reason, he and his wife age little in this film though they have children one scene and the children are adults two minutes later. Neesom looks so much like Ralph Fiennes ("Maid in Manhattan," "Red Dragon") that I would not know it was Neesom if he weren't at the Chicago premiere.
My biggest critique is that this film has no ending. Unlike "Motorcycle Diaries," "Boycott," "10,000 Black Men Named George," and many other biopics, there is no biographical information written at the end. This begs far more questions then it answers and leaves the audience hanging.
Still, every adult across the globe needs to see and think seriously about this work.