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KINSEY (2004) (****)

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This film is how biopics are supposed to be made. The only thing keeping this off the Oscar list is an early release date allowing time for buzz to wear off and the controversy drummed up by the religious right, who like to demonize anything that has anything to do with Kinsey.

If you don’t know who Alfred Kinsey (Liam Neeson, SCHINDLER’S LIST) is then let me tell you. He was a biologist who first tackled the topic of human sexuality in a scientific way. His two ground-breaking books SEXUAL BEHAVIOR IN THE HUMAN MALE and SEXUAL BEHAVIOR IN THE HUMAN FEMALE opened people’s minds to what others where doing sexual for real not what was assumed. The film brilliantly delves into what made Kinsey tick as a human being and why he did what he did.

It shows his relationship with his repressive father Alfred Seguine Kinsey (John Lithgow, FLASHDANCE) and his intelligent wife Clara (Laura Linney, YOU CAN COUNT ON ME). But it doesn’t shy away from his negative traits. His analytical mind is often cold and emotionless, which compromises his marriage and his studies. We also see how his behavior and methods (which can be questionable at times) affects his assistants Wardell Pomeroy (Chris O’Donnell, CIRCLE OF FRIENDS), Paul Gebhard (Timothy Hutton, ORDINARY PEOPLE) and Clyde Martin (Peter Sarsgaard, SHATTERED GLASS), who Kinsey has an affair with.

The film chronicles how sexuality was viewed in the late 1940s and how it has changed. Young married couples were so ignorant about sex that it wasn’t even enjoyable to some of them. Kinsey’s work broke down barriers, which some wish still remained. It’s amazing the things that people assumed as fact, but where based on nothing more than sexual hysteria.

Neeson hasn’t been this good since SCHINDLER’S. Linney is such a great actress that she deserved her Oscar nomination for her line – I’d like that – alone. Sarsgaard is also stellar in the film and deserves more recognition for his constant greatness. There’s also a cameo performance by Lynn Redgrave (GODS & MONSTERS) that is an emotional exclamation point at the end the film.

I highly recommend this film, no matter what your feelings on Kinsey may be. He wasn’t perfect, but his work did do some great things. Just think about the groundwork that he established for police profiling. This film is one of the absolute best films of 2004.

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Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks