Kinsey

REVIEW
In an era of social conservatism that discouraged any talk of sex by both overtly and subtly repressive means, Dr. Alfred Kinsey was a trailblazer whose groundbreaking research in the sex lives of the American man and woman was greeted with acclaim and contempt. His was a brave act of an individual standing up to societal conventions. Kinsey, the exhilarating, brilliantly realized biography of a man whose career and dedication to science and truth would cause a revolution of sorts, approaches its subject in much the same manner the great doctor did -- with unmistakable passion, brutal honesty and rare intelligence. And in doing so, writer-director Condon has fashioned a scintillating, often funny, provocative and quite adult examination whose story of hypocrisy and oppression rings true not only for Kinsey's time but also in the age of blue states and red states and when issues of "moral values" wins presidential elections. Neeson is extraordinary as Kinsey, a biology professor whose expertise in the gall wasp has brought him little notoriety. When his students begin asking questions pertaining to sex, he comes to realize there are no studies or scientific data about sexuality and sets out to accumulate information on his own. The film evenly dissects the immense undertaking, the toll it has on his personal life, and how committed the doctor, his "free-thinking" wife (a remarkable Linney) and associates (headed by the terrific Sarsgaard as a bisexual researcher) are to the project. Director Condon has coaxed exemplary performances from his entire cast, and his masterful screenplay, both insightful and daring, allows the ensemble to fully explore the delicate shadings of their characters. Kinsey is truly revelatory filmmaking, and like Kinsey himself is blessed with a refreshingly mature attitude towards sex, and we're all the more enlightened, provoked and even entertained because of it.