Kinsey: Movie & DVD Review (2004) by Christopher Smith

(Originally published 2004)

The new movie "Kinsey" is a quick, satisfying two hours of watching people talk about sex, explore sex and have sex. And not just any people. The movie is based on the life of zoologist and sex researcher Dr. Alfred C. Kinsey (Liam Neeson), the Bowdoin graduate who shook the world in 1948 with the publication of his book "Sexual Behavior in the Human Male," and again in 1953 with the publication of its companion book, "Sexual Behavior in the Human Female."

Fueled by Kinsey's frank, nonjudgmental interviews with thousands of U.S. citizens about their sex lives and sexual habits, the books stunned, liberated, validated and bothered plenty.

And why not? When Kinsey began his research in the late '30s, the United States was steeped in the sort of sexual repression that found some college-age adults believing that babies popped out of belly buttons, and others believing that oral sex could get one pregnant.

This air of ignorance was so pervasive that society, stunted by its puritanical roots, wasn't ready for the open conversation about sex that Kinsey offered. Some would argue it still isn't.

As written and directed with great energy, sensitivity and wit by Bill Condon ("Gods and Monsters"), "Kinsey" examines the researcher's life with a smart, sophisticated script that's worth savoring.

Told in flashback, it follows Kinsey's life from his childhood in Hoboken, N.J., where he was raised by a cruel, moralistic father (John Lithgow) for whom sex was a filthy act, to his unconventional marriage to Clara McMillen (Laura Linney), his rise to national prominence as a researcher of gall wasps and then of sex, his unusually close relationships with his students (Chris O'Donnell, Peter Sarsgaard, Timothy Hutton), and his fall into ruin.

Condon navigates it all with affection. He doesn't deify Kinsey - too many flaws for that - but he does try to give the man his due in spite of the air of hysteria that still plagues Kinsey and his work.

Kinsey's approach to studying human sexuality has long been controversial, even among his most liberal of supporters - he believed sexuality could be measured solely by scientific means, thus negating emotions.

But Condon sees the bigger picture. Kinsey's research allowed millions to feel guiltless about their sex lives and fantasies, thus allowing them to lead fuller lives. He put sex on the front pages of newspapers and magazines, in living rooms, kitchens and bedrooms, and he sparked the conversations that followed. As such, he was partly responsible for the sexual revolution.

As Kinsey, Neeson reclaims the greatness that defined him in "Schindler's List." He is excellent here, passionate and intense. His performance doesn't trump Leonardo DiCaprio's winning turn in "The Aviator" or Jamie Foxx's transforming performance in "Ray," but he will join them in being nominated for Best Actor at the upcoming awards shows. Linney will have her day, as well. As Clara, she paints a vivid portrait of a woman so far ahead of her time, she's even ahead of our time. She is the movie's balance, the one element that keeps "Kinsey" grounded even as Kinsey himself teeters over the edge.

Grade: A