Kinsey - Two-Disc Special Edition

Rating: R

Distributor: Fox Home Entertainment

Release Date: May 17, 2005
Review posted: May 16, 2005

Reviewed by Dylan Grant

SYNOPSIS

Liam Neeson stars as Alfred Kinsey, a man driven by scientific passion and personal demons to investigate the elusive mystery of human sexuality.  Laura Linney garnered an Oscar nomination as Kinsey’s free-thinking wife.  This provocative drama dares to lift the veil of shame from a society in which sex was hidden, knowledge was dangerous, and talking about it was the ultimate taboo.

CRITIQUE

Sexual Behavior in the Human Male, which appeared in 1948, was not the first book Alfred Kinsey published.  In his early 50’s at that point, he had been a professor for years, and had published a biology textbook, as well as a book about the gall wasp, an obsession he followed to far flung regions of the world, eventually collecting more than 8 million samples.  He brought the same approach he used studying gall wasps to the “marriage course” when asked to teach it by Indiana University: sex, reproduction, was a normal biological function, practiced by all mammals.

Before Kinsey, “sexual education” involved a lot of irresponsible moralizing, fear and superstition dressed up as fact.  People were largely ignorant, horribly misinformed, and the consensus was that any kind of honest sexual conversation would lead to daydreaming, which would lead inevitably to promiscuity and unwanted pregnancy.  Meanwhile, there was a VD epidemic sweeping the country, demonstrating that people had gone beyond mere daydreaming, and that abstinence was unrealistic for society at large.  As Kinsey states in the first class, “in an uninhibited society, a 12-year-old would know all the basic biology I am going to teach you.”

Kinsey could never understand the need to lean on ignorance, to promote baseless misinformation over proven fact, even though he came from that world.  Kinsey’s father, also called Alfred (and well played by John Lithgow), was himself a college professor, as well as a fire-and-brimstone, bible thumping Baptist preacher.  In the very first scene we find him preaching about how the machine age has brought nothing but more opportunities for people to sin.  The gasoline engine has given us the joy ride, he says, and other absurd examples.  Lithgow plays Alfred Sr. as a bitter, hateful man, too blinded by his religion to bend an inch.  He treats Mrs. Kinsey (Veronica Cartwright) with condescending disdain, and he shows nothing but disappointment in the young Kinsey.  It would be easy to dislike Mr. Kinsey, until he agrees to submit to his son’s questionnaire, and we learn that he himself suffered humiliation as a young boy at the hands of a backward doctor.  This scene is one of the best in the film, understated but powerful; it is the only time we see a connection between father and son, and it feels like a well earned pay off.

Writer/Director Bill Condon (Gods and Monsters) frames the film around Kinsey and his sexual history.  We start with Kinsey answering his own survey, which leads us into our story.  This is an interesting expository device, framing a man’s story around the central issue in his life, and Condon handles it well.  It leaves us with a fresh narrative style in an otherwise straightforward biopic.

As Kinsey, Liam Neeson is superb.  Neeson plays Kinsey as a man who is so much a scientist that he loses some of his humanity.  Biology is his religion, and as the film goes on we see him becoming more and more like his father.  He approaches human sexuality with the same scientific curiosity he brings to gall wasps or the plants in his backyard.  At one point, one of Kinsey’s colleagues even says that Alfred is “more like a preacher than a scientist.”

Kinsey collected over 8 million gall wasps, and his research and collection of sexual histories was equally exhaustive.  Kinsey was an obsessive collector, and he eventually cataloged more than 18,000 sexual histories from people all over the country.  He had a vision for nine volumes that would explain human sexual behavior.  The first, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male, caused a sensation.  Kinsey might have looked at man as just another animal, but the rest of the world did not see it that way.  Suddenly this biologist whose work had been totally obscure was famous, his book on best seller lists all over the country.

Kinsey’s high point was also his downfall, as it brought the attention of the same forces of ignorance that created the demand for his marriage class in the first place.  Instead of seeking out subjects, they came to him.  One of these was a man named Kenneth Braun (William Sadler, who manages to make Braun creepy and fascinating at the same time), an omniphile who kept a detailed record of his long, bizarre, criminal sexual history.  “A person like me really puts your ideas to the test,” says Braun, as he proceeds to tell Kinsey about having sex with close to 10,000 men and women, among them seventeen family members and hundreds of underage boys.  Braun’s history is undeniably deviant, and he is the only one who really puts Kinsey’s theories to the test.  His correspondence with Braun would tarnish Kinsey’s reputation, the effects lasting to this very day.  (There are some interesting deleted scenes that flesh out the Kinsey/Braun scenes, which are interesting to watch, but that the filmmakers were probably wise to cut.)

Eventually Kinsey’s novelty wore off.  The 1950’s happened and soon the U.S. Government got involved.  Kinsey and his research were caught up in the Red Scare, seen as furthering some phantom communist plot.  Despite the success of his two books - the early 50’s saw the publication of Sexual Behavior in the Human Female - Kinsey lost his funding.

Kinsey is a solid film with good performances by the entire cast.  Neeson is the stand out and should have won the Oscar.  Linney is strong as Clara Kinsey, the supportive wife.  Peter Sarsgaard, Timothy Hutton, and Chris O’Donnell are all great as Kinsey’s research team.  The writing and direction are good, leaving us with a detailed insight into a time in recent American history we often hear little about.

THE VIDEO

Kinsey is presented in the original 2.35:1 aspect ratio.  The transfer is crisp, and all color levels come through well.  The photography in this film is very warm, and the presentation on this DVD gives us an incredible translation.

THE AUDIO

This DVD offers English tracks in 5.1 DTS and 5.1 Dolby Surround, as well as Dolby Surround tracks in Spanish and French.  Kinsey does not offer much in the way of complicated sound editing, but the presentation is crisp, and what we have is well done and absent any defects.

THE EXTRAS

Disc One:

Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Bill Condon: the director talks about the evolution of the film, how certain scenes were shot and how they relate to the real life Kinsey.

Disc Two:

The Kinsey Report: Sex On Film: The cast and crew answer some of Kinsey’s survey questions, and the director and producer talk about the making of the film and the controversy they encountered.  (65:00)

Deleted Scenes: 21 deleted scenes and alternate cuts, all with optional commentary by writer/director Condon.  These scenes are all pretty interesting, some even adding layers to the film.  It is a mystery as to why some of these were cut.

Trailers: The film’s teaser and original theatrical trailer.

Gag Reel: The cast flubbing their lines and goofing off on the set.

Sex Ed. at the Kinsey Institute: A look inside the actual institute.  (6:00)

Interactive Sex Questionnaire: A 45 question test based on the Kinsey model.

This DVD set also comes with an insert that features a timeline of events in the life of Alfred Kinsey.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Kinsey is a strong film on all fronts.  The writing and direction are assured, and the cast is flawless.  The film is supplemented on this DVD by some interesting bonus material, giving added insight into the film, the man and his work.

VERDICT: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

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