Review of Kinsey (2004) by Kenneth H — 06 Jan 2011

This is a great film that embodies the joy of scientific discovery. I love learning about enterprising scientists, and the fact that Kinsey started out as a zoologist makes his story even better. The plot is unfailingly predictable: curious scientist sets out to record information on the controversial topic of human sexual behavior; it goes well at first but then the reactionary forces of prudery rear their ugly heads and sets him back; then out of the darkest depths of despair he gets a burst of inspiration and confidently and resolutely marches forward. Yeah, but it still plays out very well nonetheless. Liam Neeson does a great job at conveying both the brimming enthusiasm and steely scientific integrity in Kinsey.

Some of the dialogue, especially between Kinsey and his wife "Mac", feels overly scripted and unrealistically eloquent; they sound more like two Senators having a floor debate than a couple talking. (Example of this: When Kinsey is proposing to Mac.) Although Liam Neeson does a great job and has a good screen presence, the movie has a a little too much of him - I heard his commanding voice is in just about every scene and there are probably only a handful of minutes where he's NOT on camera. My biggest disappointment was the abrupt and inconclusive ending - they didn't even throw in an afterword to explain what happened to Kinsey later in life.