Kinsey

[kotte]

Trailer

Looks okay. Never heard about 'til tonight.

[coffeebeetle]

k, i'd like to know a BIT more...

[MacGuffin]

Release Date: November 12th, 2004 (LA/NY); expands to other cities at later dates

Cast: Liam Neeson (Alfred C. Kinsey), Laura Linney (Mrs. Clara Kinsey), Tim Curry, Timothy Hutton, John Lithgow, Arden Myrin, Chris O'Donnell (Wardell Pomeroy), Oliver Platt, Peter Sarsgaard, Gore Vidal.

Director: Bill Condon (Gods and Monsters, Sister Sister, Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh)

Screenwriter: Bill Condon (Chicago, FX2, Gods and Monsters; cowriter of Sister Sister, Strange Invaders and The Devil and Daniel Webster)

Based Upon: the life of zoologist and sex researcher Alfred C. Kinsey (1894-1956). Bill Condon's script is reportedly based upon and/or inspired by the book 'Sex and the Measure of All Things: A Life of Alfred C. Kinsey' by Jonathan Gathorne-Hardy and the documentary film 'Sex and the Scientist', produced by Diane Ward.

Premise: Alfred Kinsey (Neeson) was a biologist at Indiana University in the 1920s-1950s whose studies led him to conduct research into the nature of human sexuality, attempting to prove that the nature of each person's sexual behavior is unique to that person, challenging the status quo mentality about all sorts of issues, including pre-marital sex and homosexuality. Establishing the Institute for Sex Research through which interviews were done with thousands of test subjects (covering dozens of subjects), Dr. Kinsey rocked the world's understanding of sexuality with the 1948 publication of the book, "Sexual Behavior in the Human Male", followed by "Sexual Behavior in the Human Female" in 1953. When he died in 1956, Kinsey was hard at work on new studies focusing on the sex lives of men in prison, the sex lives of Europeans (separate from his studies in the U.S.) and the sex lives of animals other than human beings. (McKellen would play a "composite character" who will serve as the movie's host and narrator; O'Donnell would play one of Kinsey's fellow sex researchers; Linney would play his wife)

[Finn]

Looks really interesting...not much word out on it.

[El Duderino]

Full Trailer Here (Media Player)

[El Duderino]

i saw this today and i really really thought it was fantastic. neeson gave his best performance since schindler's list. sarsgaard and linney were great as always. bill condon is climbing the ladder to be one of my favorite directors working today. go see this movie.

[Finn]

I second that. Very good movie with great performances.

[RegularKarate]

Good Movie, good performances... never becomes anything better than a biopic, but it's still worth seeing.

[cine]

I second that. Very good movie with great performances.

I second what Filmcritic seconded. Not sure why this thread is quiet as it was a very good movie and could be a nice Oscar contender. And if it's too racy for Best Picture, the performances shine enough for Neeson, Linney, and even Sarsgaard to pick up Academy nods.

[Finn]

Well I obviously you liked it, Cinsey

...And don't call me filmcritic

[Dtm115300]

Fantastic movie;i saw this film today with a few friends in a small two screen theater. Despite my bad choce in theaters I really enjoyed this film.

[ono]

Finally saw this.  Very good flick, and it's a shame it hasn't gotten more attention.  In a way, it transcends its biopic label because it plays more like a documentary in some parts, and because it refuses to fall into traditional biopic traps.  Also, it doesn't follow Kinsey's whole life, which is a good thing.  It gives what's necessary, and doesn't track him all the way until death, though it does leave things a bit too open-ended in my book.  The little animal montage in the credits was pretty funny, as was most of the movie itself.

John Lithgow proved his worth in one extremely compelling scene as well as other brutally harsh ones.  This film was so refreshing because it painted a totally different picture of an era.  It allowed you to see into the lives of people from a time when it was thought that these areas they're treading were taboo.

Biggest laugh from the audience I saw it with:

Clyde Martin: How old were you when you first engaged in sexual activity with a partner?
Research Subject: 14.
Clyde Martin: How?
Research Subject: With horse.
Clyde Martin: [pause] How often were you having intercourse with animals at age 14?
Research Subject: [stunned] It's true. I fucked a pony. You are genius, how did you know?
Clyde Martin: You just said you had
[pause]
Clyde Martin: sex with horse.
Research Subject: Nooo... Whores, not horse, *whores*.

[Thrindle]

Minor Spoilers



I think this movie is still rather taboo.  I was watching "The View" a couple of months ago, and the little conservative one was just ripping Laura Linney to shreds about the Kinsey's infidelities.  She could not understand how two people, who love each other, could do something so "wrong" as to have sex with other people (let alone homosexual sex).  It was funny because she ended up annoying Laura Linney (who was defending the Kinseys).  In the end Linney sort of dismissed the conservative one and focused on the other women.

I really think that the subject of this movie has scared a lot of people away.

[pete]

it's still pretty popular here in boston, especially after the pre-academy buzz, but I just haven't seen anyone who really loved this film.  I think the film is banking on the taboo thing.  because aside from that, a "bioepic concerning a man's mad obsession with something at the risk of losing everything he loves" is pretty much played out for good.  the film is banking on the self-Right-eous outrage in America and really depends on the dorks on The View for publicity.  It intends to "shock" America by featuring old ladies having sex and dudes making out in a mainstream film--but the good people in the blue cities don't really give a shit.  working at the indie theater, I have yet to see anyone walking out of it outraged (as they did to something like The Pianist or The Magdalene Sisters) most of the people who see it here are hip urban middle aged people, the type of audience who would spend $9 on a movie simply because they read in the new york times that it's a taboo movie to see.

[RegularKarate]

I think you're wrong, though Pete.  I don't feel that it's "banking" off any such thing.  I think it's just interesting subject matter and an entertaining movie.  I don't see it as anything more than a decent biopic (I also think Ono's wrong about that).

I know a lot of people who saw it because it's a decent film, I don't think it's that taboo... certainly not enough to rely on that alone.