"That's a nice-a donut."

Tuesday, May 31, 2005


Kinsey

Kinsey is a fact-based account of Alfred Kinsey and his trials and tribulations in producing the first substantial scientific research on the taboo subject of sex. A young Kinsey (played as an adult by Liam Neeson) rebels against his strict parents and goes into zoology instead of engineering (like apparently every good boy should). He becomes a successful bug collector and professor at Indiana University. He eventually expanded into teaching a biology course on human sexuality and soon realized that there was little research and knowledge about variations in sexual behavior. He wondered: what is normal? He hires a team of investigators and is soon conducting a massive nationwide study to interview people and ascertain the answers to many different, very sensitive questions. Along the way he has two best-selling books, some setbacks, a load of resistance from the moral front, and some problems at home as well.

Kinsey's research and books were extremely controversial at the time. The first book, "Sexual Behavior in the Human Male," broached topics that just weren't supposed to be talked about (especially masturbation). Yet, as groundbreaking, contentious, and exciting that these books were, Kinsey the movie is nothing of the sort. It is bland, generic, and rather sterile. Whether the director, Bill Condon, intended to or not, the movie often feels like one of the many plain, ordinary, nondescript science films from the 1960s and 70s that were sometimes shown in grade school. Even when Kinsey's bisexuality is shown (including one fairly risque scene with costar Peter Sarsgaard), it just seems like it is included for completeness sake and not to further the study of the man. Similarly, as is standard practice with many biopics, we see that Kinsey was not close to his parents - in particular his very moral, conservative father. When this side plot is reintroduced later in the film, it is out of place and quite unnecessary.

The actors generally give okay performances, though it sometimes felt as if they were being held back a little - especially Neeson. Laura Linney is very good as the young coed who Kinsey romances and then marries. As he always is, Sarsgaard is good too. I also enjoyed the sequences depicting short segments from the interviews. It was refreshing to see normal, everyday people discussing and answering questions about their usually very personal sex life. I only wish that there were more of these scenes; it could have helped create some humor in what should have been a livelier picture. For better or worse, this film is relatively short for a "biopic", clocking in at just less than 2 hours in running time. It is a very interesting story, and the movie isn't bad, it just could have been much better.

The Verdict: C+.

Archives

March 2005   April 2005   May 2005   June 2005   July 2005   August 2005   September 2005   October 2005   November 2005   December 2005   January 2006   February 2006   March 2006   April 2006   May 2006   June 2006   July 2006   August 2006   September 2006  

     


 
 

Need to contact us? E-mail a Box Office Prophet.
Friday, March 29, 2024
© 2024 Box Office Prophets, a division of One Of Us, Inc.