Susan Granger’s review of “Kinsey” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
“Kinsey” will be a strong contender in several Oscar races as Liam Neeson and Laura Linney deliver indelible performances in Bill Condon’s astute, heartfelt tribute to America’s fearless pioneer sexologist whose bold, epic text, “Sexual Behavior in the Human Male” (1948), ignited explosive controversy and forged America’s path toward sexual liberation in the 20th century. Indiana University entomologist Alfred Kinsey (Neeson) was determined to study gall wasps until he discovered how little scientific data was available on human sexuality. Encouraging him to ignore social restraints and to pursue his research with shameless, guilt-free passion was his spunky, supportive wife Clara McMillen (Linney), despite the disapproval of his overbearing, obnoxious preacher father (John Lithgow) and the disruption of their marriage by his ardent assistants (Peter Sarsgaard, Timothy Hutton, Chris O’Donnell) with their own romantic entanglements, his skeptical academic adversary (Tim Curry) and eventual public outrage. Oscar-winning writer/director Bill Condon (“Gods and Monsters”) treats his challenging subject matter with candid, Kinsey-like, non-judgmental respect, providing an intriguing, non-linear social and historical context for Kinsey’s methodology and life, concluding, as Kinsey did, that there’s no scientific measurement for love. Neeson convincingly captures Kinsey’s relentless zeal for the liberated libido, while Linney evokes the emotional duality of sexual enlightenment. Problem is: ironically, it’s difficult to realize our society was ever that puritanical and naive. Nevertheless, on the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Kinsey” is a fascinating 9, turning taboo-breaking titillation into an enthralling character study and explicit sex education. A “must see.”
