Cast: Liam Neeson, Laura Linney, Chris O'Donnell, Peter Sarsgaard, Timothy Hutton, John Lithgow, Tim Curry, Oliver Platt, Dylan Baker
Director: Bill Condon
Producer: Gail Mutrux
Screenplay: Bill Condon
Cinematography: Frederick Elmes
Music: Carter Burwell
U.S. Distributor: Fox Searchlight
It's open to debate whether today's society should be considered "sexually enlightened," but, compared to the one in which Dr. Alfred Kinsey (Liam Neeson) worked little more than a half-century ago, there's no doubt that we have come a long way. Kinsey, a professor at Indiana University, became the first American scientist to study sexual behavior. He did it because it had not been done before, and he felt that some kind of "hard evidence" was needed to contradict the untruths and rumors about sex born of ignorance and religious zealotry. Kinsey's two landmark books arrived five years apart, with Sexual Behavior in the Human Male being published in 1948, and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female reaching the public in 1953. Kinsey, Bill Condon's mostly-accurate biography of Kinsey, highlight's the doctor's life before, during, and after this period. Although some fictionalizations are used for dramatic purposes, most of those who knew Kinsey (he died in 1956), indicate that the film is true to the substance, if not all the details, of his life.
One of the elements that differentiates Kinsey from a traditional bio-pic is that this film is as interested in the social context in which it transpires as it is in the life of its central character. Certainly, Condon never loses sight of Kinsey, but there are times when he allows the doctor's research to absorb the spotlight. It's fascinating to understand how naïve and confused people were about sex in the 1930s and 1940s. Misconceptions outnumbered accurate information. Masturbation, oral sex, and other "unusual" forms of sexual contact (meaning anything other than the missionary position between two married people) were thought of not only as "wrong" but as potentially harmful. On their wedding nights, some women had no idea they were expected to do something more than kiss. Into this darkness, Kinsey shed a light, and his work became some of the most controversial by any professor during the 20th century.
On the wedding night of Kinsey and his bride, Clara (Laura Linney), both were virgins. Their first attempt at sex was disastrous. Only after visiting a sex specialist (and there weren't many of those during that era) were they able to comfortably consummate their marriage. After that, Kinsey's primary academic interest began to stray from wasps to the human animal. His informal advice on sexual matters earned him the title of the "Sex Doctor," and, when Indiana University decided to add a course about human sexuality to the curriculum, Kinsey was selected to teach it. His forthrightness startled and offended some members of the class, but others, such as Clyde Martin (Peter Sarsgaard), found it refreshing. When Kinsey began conducting face-to-face interviews with volunteers to amass data for his "sex project," he used Clyde and two others, Wardell Pomeroy (Chris O'Donnell) and Paul Gebhard (Timothy Hutton), to help.
The more Kinsey learned about human sexual habits, the less constrained by societal expectations he became. He engaged in a homosexual affair with Clyde, then, in the spirit of complete honesty, told his wife about it. At first, she had difficulty coping with her husband's liberated attitude, but, eventually, she entered into an open affair with Clyde. Others in Kinsey's close group engaged in wife-swapping. There was only one prohibition: romantic entanglements were permitted only between husbands and wives. Everything else was "just sex."
The publication of Sexual Behavior in the Human Male made Kinsey an immediate celebrity - revered in some corners, reviled in others. The book was controversial from the beginning, but it was widely read. It took five years before Sexual Behavior in the Human Female followed, and that volume was greeted with anger and disgust. After all, who wanted to think of their mother and daughter masturbating or possibly engaging in sex-play with another woman? Men, who could shrug off less-than-flattering revelations about their own sexuality, could not stand to have their pure image of femininity sullied.
The first half of the film, which is presented largely in flashbacks (as Kinsey allows his assistants to "take" his interview), shows the doctor's life as a young man living in the uncompromisingly tight grip of his minister father (John Lithgow), his meeting with and marriage to Clara, and his academic transition from zoologist to sexologist. The second half of Kinsey concentrates on the research that went into the two published volumes, and the difficulties Kinsey had maintaining funding. The more the film focuses on the impact of the books, the less personal attention it pays to the author, although we do see how the publication of Sexual Behavior in the Human Female nearly ruined Kinsey.
There are weaknesses, several of which result from Condon trying to do too much. The film clocks in at a little under two hours, but one has the sense that if all of the subplots were legitimately explored, Kinsey would easily reach the three-hour mark. As it is, we are teased with indications of disharmony within Kinsey's family (the movie draws a parallel between Kinsey's paternal attitudes and his father's) and a rivalry between Kinsey and a fellow professor (played with typical oiliness by Tim Curry). Neither, however, amounts to more than background color. Likewise, the interaction between Kinsey's assistants and their wives is represented in a scattershot manner. We are afforded glimpses of the wife-swapping and one unfortunate result, but there's a sense that a much deeper and richer story is glossed over.
In giving Kinsey an appropriate R rating, the MPAA shows surprising restraint and good sense. The film includes three graphic still photographs (an erect penis pressing against a vagina, a close-up of a vagina, and penetration) that exceed the bounds of what is normally depicted in "legitimate" cinema. But the educational, non-exploitative, and non-titillating nature of the pictures did not lead to an NC-17. There's also plenty of explicit talk (as one might expect). The nudity by the actors is limited to a brief topless shot of Laura Linney and a scene in which Peter Sarsgaard shows that Ewan McGregor is not the only actor who isn't camera shy.
Although the strength of Kinsey is the subject matter, it would be criminal not to note the fine performances of Liam Neeson and Laura Linney, who imbue their characters with humanity and likeability. They also convey a deep and believable bond of affection. When films depict romance, they usually concentrate on sexiness and heat. Here, those qualities are absent, but it's much more real.
Condon has followed up his critically acclaimed Gods and Monsters with another film that will likely find much favor amongst reviewers and those who enjoy intellectually challenging movies. Kinsey is not as strong on character, but is just as rich in ideas. For those who aren't put off by a movie whose sexual frankness knows few boundaries, Kinsey has much to recommend itself. This is a fine motion picture with a couple of superlative performances. It is arguably the best, most honest bio-pic of the year, and is certainly worth the price of admission.
© 2004 James Berardinelli