Themes: Sexual Awakening, Obsessive Quests, Fighting the System
Main Cast: Liam Neeson, Laura Linney, Chris O'Donnell, Peter Sarsgaard, Timothy Hutton
Release Year: 2004
Country: US
Run Time: 118 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Alfred Kinsey was an entomologist who taught at Indiana University and had a keen interest in an area of human behavior that had seen little scholarly research -- human sexuality. While the courtship and reproductive patterns of animals had been carefully documented, Kinsey believed that most "established facts" about human sexual behavior were a matter of conjecture rather than research and that what most people said about their sex lives was not born out by the evidence (a subject that had personal resonance for him given the troubles he and his wife Clara Kinsey had in the early days of their marriage). After introducing a course in "Marriage" at Indiana University which offered frank and factual information on sex to students, Kinsey began an exhaustive series of interviews with a wide variety of people from all walks of life in order to find out the truth about sex practices in America. When he published Sexual Behavior and the Human Male in 1948, his findings were wildly controversial, indicating that most men had a wider variety of sexual experiences than most people imagined, including a number of practices commonly thought to be dangerous or perverted (including pre-marital sex, same-sex contacts, and masturbation). An even greater outcry greeted Kinsey's next volume, Sexual Behavior and the Human Female, which contradicted common notions than most women went into marriage sexually inexperienced. Kinsey is a film biography written and directed by Bill Condon which examines Kinsey's life and work from his strict childhood until his death in 1956. Liam Neeson plays Alfred Kinsey, and Laura Linney co-stars as Kinsey's wife and colleague Clara. John Lithgow highlights the supporting cast as Kinsey's repressed and moralistic father, while Chris O'Donnell, Peter Sarsgaard, and Timothy Hutton play members of Kinsey's research team and Tim Curry appears as an IU faculty member at odds with Kinsey's teachings. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
On the heels of the critically acclaimed Gods and Monsters (1998), writer/director Bill Condon scores again with another meticulous, intelligent biography of a prominent but little-understood historical figure struggling with his controversial sexuality. In the case of Kinsey, sexuality is at the core of his hero's intellectual and physical journey, giving the filmmaker a chance to pose difficult questions about nature versus nurture, human sexual behavior, and the role of psychology in reproduction. Answers, even theoretical ones, to those questions are not always forthcoming. In one sequence Kinsey mutilates himself in an effort to examine the line between pleasure and pain, but his motivations are never fully explored. In another, his son explodes with frustration at his family's frank dinner-table discussion of coitus, but the character then disappears, as do the uncomfortable but completely justifiable criticisms he raises. While imperfect, however, Condon is to be applauded for mining such a rich, complex, and still-controversial subject, achieving a provocative and absorbing final result. The performances of Liam Neeson, Peter Sarsgaard, and Laura Linney are uniformly excellent and emotionally layered, and the filmmaker introduces a sneaky sense of humor into his material that renders it more accessible than his previous efforts. Kinsey (2004) joins the ranks of A Beautiful Mind (2001) and the TV film Longitude (2000) as a sterling example of the sci-bio subgenre. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
John Lithgow - Alfred Seguine Kinsey; Tim Curry - Thurman Rice; Oliver Platt - Herman Wells; Dylan Baker - Alan Gregg; Julianne Nicholson - Alice Martin; Bill Sadler - Kenneth Braun; John McMartin - Huntington Hartford; Veronica Cartwright - Sara Kinsey; Kathleen Chalfant - Barbara Merkle; Heather Goldenhersh - Martha Pomeroy; Dagmara Dominczyk - Agnes Gebhard; Lynn Redgrave - Final Interview Subject; Michael Arkin - NYC Reporter #1; Joe Badalucco - Radio Repairman; Susan Blommaert - Staff Secretary; Bill Buell - Dr. Thomas Lattimore; Fred Burrell - IU Reporter #2; Jarleth Conroy - Grocer; Harley Cross - Young Man In Gay Bar; Clifford David - Professor Smithson; Arthur French - Sharecropper; Mara Hobel - Female Student #2; Katharine Houghton - Mrs. Spaulding; Tuck Milligan - NYC Reporter #3; Martin Murphy - Bartender; John Pruitt - Male Student #4; Reno - Male Impersonator; Don Sparks - Middle-Aged Businessman; Jaime Tirelli - Hispanic Man; Joe Zaloom - Janitor; Dan Ziskie - NYC Reporter #2; Pascal Armand - Young Black Woman; John Epperson - Effete Man In Gay Bar; Barry Del Sherman - IU Reporter #1; Mark Mineart - Slavic Man; Jefferson Mays - Effete Man's Friend; Arden Myrin - Emily; Sean Skelton - Staff Photographer; Edwin J. McDonough - Mr. Morrissey; David Harbour - Robert Kinsey; Kate Jennings Grant - Marjorie Hartford; Amy Wilson - Marriage Class Coed; Will Denton - Kinsey At 10; John Krasinski - Ben; William Sadley - Kenneth Braun; Benjamin Walker - Kinsey At 19; Matthew Fahey - Kinsey At 14; Romulus Linney - Rep. B. Carroll Reece; Judith J.K. Polson - Mildred Kinsey; Leigh Spofford - Joan Kinsey; Thomas Luke MacFarlane - Bruce Kinsey; Mike Thurstlic - Kenneth Hand; Michele Federer - Gall Wasp Class Coed; Alvin Keith - Black Student; Maryellen Owens - Female Assistant Professor; Roderick Hill - Clerical Worker; Peg Small - Retired Teacher; Kate Reinders - Female Student #1; Lindsay Schmidt - Female Student #3; Jason Patrick Sands - Male Student #1; Marcel Simoneau - Male Student #2; Bobby Steggert - Male Student #3; John Ellison Conlee - Bookstore Clerk; Chandler Williams - Prison Inmate; Draper Shreeve - Ballet Teacher; Phillip Kushner - Bellhop; Henrietta Mantooth - Poet; Doris Smith - Old Woman; Steven Edward Hart - Reverend; Randy Redd - Student
Credit
Nicholas Lundy - Art Director, Kimberly Lowe Voight - Supervising Art Director, Valerie Dean - Associate Producer, Adam Shulman - Associate Producer, Douglas Aibel - Casting, Cindy Tolan - Casting, Carter Burwell - Conductor, Richard Guay - Co-producer, Bruce Finlayson - Costume Designer, Jude Gorjanc - First Assistant Director, Bill Condon - Director, Virginia Katz - Editor, Bobby Rock - Executive Producer, Francis Ford Coppola - Executive Producer, Michael Kuhn - Executive Producer, Kirk D'Amico - Executive Producer, Wayne Herndon - Hair Styles, Carter Burwell - Composer (Music Score), Michael Laudati - Makeup, James Sarzotti - Makeup, Mindy Hall - Makeup, Todd Kleitsch - Makeup Special Effects, Richard Sherman - Production Designer, Frederick Elmes - Cinematographer, Gail Mutrux - Producer, Gary Ritchie - Recording, Alan Silverman - Recording, Kati Meister - Research, Deborah Ricketts - Research, Connie Brink - Special Effects, T.J. O'Mara - Sound/Sound Designer, Blaise Corrigan - Stunts Coordinator, George Aguilar - Stunts Coordinator, Diana Schmidt - Unit Production Manager, Bill Condon - Screenwriter, Heni Sann - Production Assistant, Bruno Michels - Production Assistant, Ciara Bresnihan - Production Assistant, Jon Bernier - Production Assistant, Laura Lim - Production Assistant, Nina Fiore - Production Assistant, Melissa Mugavero - Production Assistant, Nicholas Vanderpool - Production Assistant, Thomas Ahlers - Production Assistant, Mollie Smith - Production Assistant, Andy Cesana - Production Assistant, Emre Ozpirincci - Production Assistant, Todd Daniel Schechter - Production Assistant, Aina Abiodun - Production Assistant, Steve McAuliff - Animal Trainer/Wrangler, Kim Krafsky - Animal Trainer/Wrangler, Robert Levine - Unit Publicist, William Almeida - Gaffer, Chris Skutch - Grip, Lamont Crawford - Grip, Mel Cannon - Grip, Keith Bunting - Grip, Pat Taistra - Grip, Peter Donahue - Grip, John Patitucci - Musical Performer, Sharon Yamada - Musical Performer, Robert Rinehart - Musical Performer, Tom Sevcofic - Musical Performer, Nadine Asin - Musical Performer, Stacey Shames - Musical Performer, Lisa Kim - Musical Performer, Alan Stepansky - Musical Performer, Jon Manasse - Musical Performer, Shelly Woodworth - Musical Performer, Ken Bichel - Musical Performer, Montez A. Monroe - Production Coordinator, Sarah Nuttall - Production Coordinator, Anthony Dimeo - Properties Master, Steve Pederson - Re-Recording Mixer, Lance Brown - Re-Recording Mixer, Linda Perkins - Second Assistant Director, Amanda Taylor - Second Assistant Director, Tommy Lohmann - Steadicam Operator, Stephen Consentino - Steadicam Operator, Eric Warren Lindemann - Supervising Sound Editor, Richard E. Yawn - Supervising Sound Editor, Josh Comen - Visual Effects Producer, Kenton Jakub - ADR Editor, Harriet Fidlow - ADR Editor, Ann Hadsell - ADR Mixer, Paul J. Zydel - ADR Mixer, Alex Raspa - ADR Recordist, Chris Navarro - ADR Recordist, Hilary Niederer - Assistant Costumer Designer, Jen Crammer - Assistant Production Coordinator, Joe Badalucco - Assistant Properties, Justine Dolan-Cote - Assistant Properties, Ralph Crowley - Best Boy Electric, Alison Barton - Best Boy Grip, Angela Bellisio - Camera Loader, Laura Cass - Casting Assistant, Matt Schreiber - Casting Assistant, Richard Hebrank - Construction Coordinator, Kimberly Lowe Voight - Dialogue Editor, Paul Hackner - Dialogue Editor, Tony Campenni - Dolly Grip, Christopher C. Liscinsky - Electrician, Tom Shinn - Electrician, Sam Friedman - Electrician, Scott Kincaid - Electrician, Meredith Jacobson Marciano - Extra Casting, Gregg Barbanell - Foley Artist, David Lott - Foley Editor, Amy Safhay - Greensman, Jeffrey Sacino - Key Hairstylist, Roy Bryson - Key Hairstylist, Carla White - Key Make-up, Richard J. Tice - Leadman, Alexandra Arlango - Personal Assistant, Adam Cook - Personal Assistant, Guadalupe Rilova - Personal Assistant, Steven Jacobson - Personal Assistant, Cara Rosenbloom - Personal Assistant, J.R. Craigmile - Production Accountant, Mark Wolfe - Production Executive, Jill Tandy - Production Executive, Malcolm Ritchie - Production Executive, Peter Lüke - Production Executive, Braden Belmonte - Second Assistant Camera, Joann Atwood - Set Dresser, Joni Finlay - Set Dresser, Kevin Keefe - Transportation Captain, Maurice Fitzgerald - Transportation Captain, Andrew Baseman - Set Decorator, Kim Maitland - Cable Person, Daniel Paikin - Cable Person, Kenny Becker - Color Timing, Jason Piatt - Foley Mixer, Michael Geisler - Foley Supervisor, Clay Liversidge - Generator Operator, Jamie Gallagher - Generator Operator, Mo Henry - Negative Cutter, D. Bassett & Associates - Negative Cutter, Caitlin McGinty - Production Secretary, Barbara Harris - Voice Casting, Jim Bruce - Assistant Editor, Nancy Barker - First Assistant Sound Editor
Although the story takes place at Indiana University, most of the film's exterior scenes were filmed at Fordham University in The Bronx, the campus of which also appears in several other films. Portions of this film were also shot at Columbia University. Kinsey was the first film permitted to show human genitalia uncensored in Japan, known for its strict censorship policies regarding genitalia.[2]
The film received critical acclaim, including a 91% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
It begins with Professor Alfred Kinsey (Liam Neeson), being interviewed about his sex history. Interspersed with the interview, there are flashbacks from his childhood and young-adulthood. The former depicts his experiences as a Boy Scout and the other shows Kinsey disappointing his father by his chosen vocational intentions. It then shows Kinsey teaching at Indiana University as a professor of biology lecturing on gall wasps. Kinsey falls in love with a student in his class, whom he calls Mac (Laura Linney), and marries her. Their consummation of their marriage is difficult at first because of a medical problem Mac has that is fixed easily with minor surgery. After which it shows that she has an equally intense sexual appetite as her husband. Meanwhile, at the University, Professor Kinsey, who is affectionately called "Prok" by his graduate students, meets with students afterhours to offer individual sexual advice.
At a book party celebrating Kinsey's latest publication on gall wasps, Kinsey approaches the dean of students about an open-forum sex education course as opposed to the anti-sex propaganda taught in a general health class. Eventually, it is approved. Kinsey begins teaching the sex course to a packed auditorium, nevertheless this course is open only to teachers, graduate or senior students or married students. Kinsey continues to answer students' questions in personal meetings but finds his answers to be severely limited by the complete paucity of scientific data about human sexual intercourse. This leads Kinsey to pass out questionnaires in his sexual education class from which he learns of the enormous disparity between what society had assumed people do and what their actual practices are. After securing financial support from the Rockefeller Foundation, Kinsey and his research assistants, including his closest assistant, Clyde Martin (Peter Sarsgaard), travel the country, interviewing subjects about their sexual histories.
As time progresses Dr. Kinsey begins realizing that sexuality within humans, including himself, is a lot more varied than was originally thought. The range of expression he creates later becomes known as the Kinsey scale, which ranks overall sexuality from completely heterosexual to completely homosexual and everything in-between.
The first sexological book Kinsey publishes, which is on the sexual habits of the male, is a large-scale success and a best seller. Kinsey's research turns to women, which is met with more controversy. With the release of the female volume, support for Kinsey declines. McCarthyist pressures lead the Rockefeller Foundation to withdraw its financial support, lest it be labeled "Communist" for backing the subversion of traditional American values. Kinsey feels that he has failed everyone who has ever been a victim of sexual ignorance. A customs office is tipped off to an importation of some of Kinsey's research material, which only exacerbates the financial situation of Kinsey's research organization. Alfred Kinsey himself suffers a heart attack, something foreshadowed in his mention of having a "weak heart" at the beginning of the movie and is found to have developed an addiction to barbiturates. Meeting with other philanthropists fails to garner the support needed. Still, Kinsey continues his taking of sex histories. He interviews an older woman, who tells Kinsey that his research has saved her life and made her happy again, by helping her come to terms with her own sexuality. She felt so much shame about her attraction to another woman that she became an alcoholic.
The story returns to the initial interview with Kinsey, and he is asked about love and if he will ever attempt to conduct research on it. His response is that love is impossible to measure and impossible to quantify (and without measuring, he reminds us, there can be no science), but that it is important. The final scene is of Kinsey and his wife, pulling over to the side of the road for a nature walk. She remarks about a tree that has been there for a thousand years. Kinsey replies that the tree seems to display a strong love in the way its roots grip the earth. Afterwards, the two walk off together, Kinsey remarking "there's work to be done".
