Review of Behind the Candelabra (2013) by Alistair L — 08 Jun 2013

Based on Scott Thorson's account of becoming Liberace's latest squeeze, displacing his predecessors and then watching as cruel time does the same to him in turn, Soderbergh's latest brings impressive and committed performances from an amazing (and often heavily disguised) cast.

Everyone has mentioned Michael Douglas's deft embodiment (it's not an impersonation) of Liberace (his real name), and deservedly so; but among a cast of characters that include some of Hollywood's creepiest, Rob Lowe for my money deserves special mention as the sinister, leering, pill-pushing celebrity surgeon Dr Jack Startz.

There are moments of camp hoot, but this is a Soderbergh film, and yet it is also warmer and more sensitive than you might therefore expect, Perhaps because it's made for TV the pace is fast, written through a large number of short scenes convenient for ad breaks.

Tech buffs will also debate where makeup ends and CGI starts, as the artificially younged Matt Damon gets older, fatter, thinner, and then is cut to suit his lover's tastes; while Liberace starts old, has a lift and becomes sleek, sleeps with his eyes open, and finally succumbs to the ravages of HIV.

One of the best, if not the best, Hollywood film of my year.