While Kinsey might have been drawing a lot of flack for its frank and relativistic portrayal of sexuality has anyone stopped to look at whether or not it was a good movie? I thoroughly enjoyed watching the movie. The subject matter and the story of how we as a society became more aware of what normal sexual habits provided for an interesting two hours. Laura Linney and Liam Neeson's acting was probably the best all year. Neeson, particularly, did a remarkable job. Unlike Jamie Foxx's more showy performance in Ray, Neeson inhabited his character so naturally that the little subtleties of his performance are almost imperceptible. Laura Linney once again shows why she is probably the best American actress working today. The life she brings to her role as the long-suffering wife transcends the stereotypical writing she had to work with.
This brings me the movie's ultimate shortcomings. While it starts off with a bang intercutting Kinsey's sexual report with images from his early life, the film soon turns into a very stereotypical, barely coherent biopic. It felt as though it was edited with a chainsaw and we were simply being dragged along artlessly through the important moments in Kinsey's life. Sometimes it was hard to tell why certain scenes were in certain places because they just jumped to the next milestone without really explaining much. Every character except Kinsey was written to be completely one-dimensional (it is a testament to Linney's acting abilities that she was able to add a dimension or two to her character). Ultimately I would recommend seeing Kinsey for the great acting and the interesting subject, but if you are sick of biopics in this over-stuffed movie season then you might be a little wary of this one.
This brings me the movie's ultimate shortcomings. While it starts off with a bang intercutting Kinsey's sexual report with images from his early life, the film soon turns into a very stereotypical, barely coherent biopic. It felt as though it was edited with a chainsaw and we were simply being dragged along artlessly through the important moments in Kinsey's life. Sometimes it was hard to tell why certain scenes were in certain places because they just jumped to the next milestone without really explaining much. Every character except Kinsey was written to be completely one-dimensional (it is a testament to Linney's acting abilities that she was able to add a dimension or two to her character). Ultimately I would recommend seeing Kinsey for the great acting and the interesting subject, but if you are sick of biopics in this over-stuffed movie season then you might be a little wary of this one.