Kinsey (2004)

Director:

Bill Condon

Writer (WGA):

Bill Condon (written by)

Release Date:

13 January 2005 (Australia)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

Let's talk about sex.

Plot:

A look at the life of Alfred Kinsey (Neeson), a pioneer in the area of human sexuality research, whose 1948 publication "Sexual Behavior in the Human Male" was one of the first recorded works that saw science address sexual behavior.

Plot Keywords:

Female Masturbation | Indiana University | Teenage Boy | Diversity | Owl

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 11 wins & 26 nominations

Cast

Liam Neeson	...	Alfred Kinsey
Laura Linney	...	Clara McMillen
Chris O'Donnell	...	Wardell Pomeroy
Peter Sarsgaard	...	Clyde Martin
Timothy Hutton	...	Paul Gebhard
John Lithgow	...	Alfred Seguine Kinsey
Tim Curry	...	Thurman Rice
Oliver Platt	...	Herman Wells
Dylan Baker	...	Alan Gregg
Julianne Nicholson	...	Alice Martin
William Sadler	...	Kenneth Braun
John McMartin	...	Huntington Hartford
Veronica Cartwright	...	Sara Kinsey
Kathleen Chalfant	...	Barbara Merkle
Heather Goldenhersh	...	Martha Pomeroy

Also Known As:

Dr. Kinsey (France) [fr]
Kinsey (Spain) [es]
Kinsey (Finland) [fi]
Kinsey (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Kinsey - Vamos Falar de Sexo (Brazil) [pt]
Kinsey: El científico del sexo (Argentina) [es]
Relatório Kinsey (Portugal) [pt]

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive sexual content, including some graphic images and descriptions.

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #40544) | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Japan:R-15 | Spain:18 | Iceland:14 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Brazil:16 | Canada:13+ (Québec) | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:18A (Manitoba) | Chile:14 | Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:III | Ireland:16 | Malaysia:(Banned) | Netherlands:16 | Norway:11 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:R21 | South Korea:18 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Zurich) | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Bloomfield, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Qwerty Films

Trivia:

During the credits, the producers thank the "University of Indiana" when it is actually "Indiana University" of which Alfred Kinsey was a part. The university notified director Bill Condon of the mistake. Condon gave his word that it would be taken care of when the film went on general release, but the mistake remains.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When young Kinsey argues with his father in the general store, the actor's prosthetic nose is extremely visible, several shades darker than his skin with wrinkly edges

Quotes:

Clyde Martin: You know, this thing between Prok and me was fine for a while, but I guess I just really miss sleeping with women.
Alfred Kinsey: That's perfectly understandable. It's clear from your history you have a greater sexual interest in women than men.
Clyde Martin: Good. Then you wont mind if I ask Mac to have sex with me. Only if it appeals to you, of course.
Clara McMillen: Would it be separately or together?
Clyde Martin: Oh, no, definitely just you and I.
Clara McMillen: I think I might like that. What do you think, Prok?

Movie Connections:

References Vertigo (1958)

Soundtrack:

Fever

the most honest movie about sex ever

Bill Condon brings so much honesty and integrity to this film. This is the third time I've left a Condon film enthralled with the evident quality on screen. "Gods and Monsters" and "Chicago" were the first two times. He is one of the most interesting and exciting filmmakers working today.

Everything is handled with disarming truth. Note the wonderful small Shavian scene when Linney challenges Neeson on whether there truly might be social benefits to traditional limits on sexual behavior, limits they both break in the course of this drama of ideas, and with the same "other man." (Peter Sarsgaard, perfect as the right-hand research assistant/Boy Friday/marital aid). The scene in which Linney agrees to Sarsgaard's advances joins the sylabus of necessary viewing for any discussion of women on film. Here she is, a lovely, good American wife and mother of yesteryear calmly saying yes to a sexual encounter, not out of romantic frustration or marital unhappiness, but out of an honest desire for pleasure - and we are asked nothing more than to accept this as a fact of this woman's life. The harder questions come a little later, but in no way serve to mar our respect for the character

There is fine support from Timothy Hutton as another member of Kinsey's team, Oliver Platt as a dean, and, especially, Lynn Redgrave as a subject whose life has been improved because of Kinsey's crusade for the truth. This one scene provides this beloved actress a golden moment - I found myself captive to this performance without realizing it was her until the credits. Only John Lithgow's work as Kinsey's repressed religiously-defined father lacks full coloring and borders on melodrama - a risk Lithgow and Condon may have contrived to put a telling scene later in the film in relief - but this strategy is beneath the skills of both actor and director/screenwriter.

No words could do justice to the beauty, subtlety and dexterity of the performances by the two leads. Having seen these two work their magic together on stage (The Crucible on Broadway), I would have expected nothing less than stellar work - and they do not disappoint. At its center, this is a love story about two imperfect, intelligent people. A scientist who is also an innocent, lacking an emotional intelligence for which his wife tries to compensate (note the tension at every dinner table scene). We believe in their commitment to each other, however unorthodox, and their zealous commitment to the truth. Condon knows when to use humor (the scene with the subject who unwittingly confesses to bestiality is one of the funniest things I have ever seen on film!), and when to leave the usual conventions behind. The coda brilliantly realizes that the film is strong enough to not require the usual biopic "rest of the story" exposition about the man and his work. Instead, we are left purely with the questions the movie has generously brought to our attention, about the meaning of love and the individuality and variety of sexual expression. Like Kinsey's gall flies, we will each answer them in our own way.