Kinsey easily measures up

Kinsey is a biopic. In this case bio stands for both biography and biology. Writer/director Bill Condon (Gods and Monsters) unfolds a rich and complicated roadmap to the life of sexpert Dr. Alfred Kinsey.

In 1948, Kinsey released Sexual Behavior in the Human Male, a pioneer study of human sexuality. In doing so, he opened a door to previously uninvestigated human behavior. The door that swung open suddenly swung back. Right or wrong, aspects of the study and Kinsey’s personal life are still scrutinized today.

In Kinsey, a scientist’s mission to clarify myths and arm people with factual information is perfectly clear. Prior to his study, even mature adults had a parochial understanding of an important part of their own internal lives.

Kinsey is reminiscent of Ron Howard’s A Beautiful Mind about mathematician John Nash. However, Kinsey is a more accurate and focused biography.

Actors Liam Neeson (Alfred Kinsey) and Laura Linney (Clara McMillen) deliver stellar work in Kinsey. Linney’s aging process through the film was seamless and superbly acted. Neeson allows Kinsey’s personal faults to show, and subtly keeps his love for Clara central to the story. Peter Sarsgaard (Garden State) plays bisexual research assistant Clyde Martin in a stoically effective performance.

Condon must have his reasons for waking Chris O’Donnell and Timothy Hutton from career slumber. The former leading men make excellent contributions in their lean roles. Vanessa Redgrave has one short scene that punctuates the film’s ending.

Cinematographer Frederick Elmes brings mid-century Indiana to life. Editor Virginia Katz keeps the story focused, even when she cannot quicken the pace.

Kinsey is the perfect date movie—not a first date, not a blind date, but a date with someone you know intimately. Even seen with friends, Kinsey is a film that will spur conversation after the lights come up.