Dom Robinson reviews
Kinsey
Let's talk about sex.
Distributed by
Producer:
Screenplay:
Music :
Cast :
Alfred Kinsey: Liam Neeson
Clara McMillen: Laura Linney
Wardell Pomeroy: Chris O'Donnell
Clyde Martin: Peter Sarsgaard
Paul Gebhard: Timothy Hutton
Alfred Seguine Kinsey: John Lithgow
Thurman Rice: Tim Curry
Herman Wells: Oliver Platt
Alan Gregg: Dylan Baker
Alice Martin: Julianne Nicholson
Kenneth Braun: William Sadler
Huntingdon Hartford: John McMartin
Sara Kinsey: Veronica Cartwright
Agnes Gebhard: Dagmara Dominczyk
Huntington Hartford: John McMartin
Let's talk about sex.
Sounds like something that'll get your attention, right? Well, it's the only thing that has a chance in
this drama about the Professor Alfred Kinsey (Liam Neeson), from Indiana University, who published
his study of "Sexual Behaviour in the Human Male" in 1948, following years of research asking scores of
questions to as many men as he could, literally dedicating his life to the project of this, one for the
women and however many other options he could think of for a society that was so repressed many believed
that wanking makes you go blind (only temporarily if misdirected), that gay sex was a rarity and that
sex in total only happened between married folk.
Kinsey is told in flashback while he is questioned about his own sex life, using the
methods he created, by those he is trying to train in the job. We see his getting married to Clara
McMillen (Laura Linney), we learn that both Kinsey and Clara are virgins and they have a problem:
he's got a big cock and her vagina's too tight. Seeking advice on this helps him to develop his technique
of establishing a person's sexual history and give out sexual advice himself.
We see him taking a stand against his overbearing father (John Lithgow), when aged 19,
and that the professor starts a study of both hetero- and homosexual behaviour and it gets to the
point where Kinsey himself starts to bat for the other side, which thus affects his marriage.
One thing looks a little odd - we see Kinsey at 14 and in the 'present day', both times when with his
father and they don't really attempt to make Liam Neeson look any younger than we know he is (53 this year).
On the one hand, this looks odd as they could be brothers in the 'present day', but on the other we know
how old they really are so let's just get on with it and concentrate on the content instead. Later on,
he does get shown to be older, moreso for Laura Linney.
Sadly, despite the topic, there's nothing more likely to give you a floppy than this movie. It's a very
plodding drama and really never seems to get going, but I continued to watch in the hope that something
would happen. It's a shame this film wasn't much cop given the talent on parade from the likes of Liam Neeson,
Timothy Hutton, John Lithgow, Oliver Platt, William Sadler and an underused Tim Curry.
Presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, the print looks mostly spot-in, although there are a few
scenes where it looks a little jerky as the camera pans across a scene. As for the sound, the only use
of the 5.1 soundtrack comes in the overlapping voices just after the first hour as Kinsey's study gets
underway fully. Other than that, it's a straight-forward drama with little else going on from the speakers.
The extras are few and far between. A director's commentary from Bill Condon, 21 deleted and extended scenes (totalling
24 mins, albeit with an option for their own commentary) including the original ending which does nothing
to titilate the senses and a 3-minute Gag Reel, or Outtakes to you and me. If I wanted to play the completist
I'd say the disc also includes 'Inside Look' featurettes for the desert-a-thon Kingdom of Heaven and
the outstanding
Sideways,
but they're nothing to do with Kinsey so I won't.
If you enjoyed this movie in the cinema, it may be worth another look, but given the lack of extras it's
not a particular keeper at full price. Bear in mind that it's the decent picture and average sound that's
propping up the overall rating.
The main menu features a few brief clips from the movie but it's highly repetitive. Subtitles are in
English only and the dialogue is similar but with options for both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1.
Usually, I'd say it's good to include both but, sadly, this isn't a film that takes advantage of the
format. There are 32 chapters to the movie.
FILM CONTENT
PICTURE QUALITY
SOUND QUALITY
EXTRAS
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OVERALL
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Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 2005.
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DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV
connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and
played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
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So what of this night? Thirty thousand fans braved the elements as thunder
clouds threatened to turn the event into a damp squib. Taking to the stage to
a huge roar, the foursome launched into a vibrant Square One, as the tee-total
one bopped like an excited teenager. Followed rapidly by Politik, Chris Martin
chomped at the keys of the rickety piano, and then took to guitar on a
thunderous Yellow, as the lights went into complimentary colour. From
the outset they sounded very good, remaining so all night with CM singing much
better than Saturday. But would I finally fall in love with Coldplay?
Talk was more of a Simple Minds tribute. A finale brought a sublime
In My Place and two video takes of Fix You complete with fireworks
blast, sending smoke across the whole stadium. Individually, Buckland rarely
exhibits any emotion or showboating almost in The Edge’s low-key manner.
Berryman is always industrious and effective, with Champion being the unsung
hero on thumping sticks.
Review & concert pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004-2008.
