Noba at the Movies

Kinsey (2004) Starring: Liam Neeson, Laura Linney, Chris O'Donnell, Peter Sarsgaard, & Oliver Platt

Alfred Kinsey is not a household name, but his area of study is a favorite of us all - sex. What Hugh Hefner publicly did to bring about the sexual revolution via the media, Kinsey did in the name of science. His extensive researching into human sexual behavior has served as the template of every similar study since. "Kinsey" tells the story behind his life's work, with some insight into the man himself.

I liked "Kinsey," because I didn't know much about him either. I'm now interested in looking at some of his work, including his famous 1948 report "Sexual Behavior in the Human Male." While Freud is credited with theorizing on the source of sexual impulses, and other psychological aspects of the dirty deed, Kinsey was a biologist with a strict focus on sex in the behavioral sense. This film spends much of its time on his technique - essential to his study's success during the sexually-repressed 1940s. He compiled all of his data (initially) through sexual histories compiled from subjects. Men and women of all ages, experience levels, and sexual preferences were quizzed on a wide variety of sexually-related topics. To ensure honesty, Kinsey and his men went to extreme measures to ensure the subjects were comfortable, and that their answers were confidential. I mention Kinsey's methods extensively because the movie frames their portrayal of the man himself in this way. Neeson, who portrays the scientist, is shown undergoing a sexual history interview administered by one of his assistants. Through his answers, we learn of he met his wife (Linney, in an Oscar-nominated but, to me, ho-hum performance), his upbringings in a Puritan household, and his own struggles with sexual taboos.

This movie would have us believe that Kinsey was not only brillant and perfect in his methodology, but also single-handedly responsible for stopping the brutal suppresion of homosexuals and other so-called sexual deviants. To be sure, Kinsey must be credited for pursuing the first-ever study of human sexual behavior, as well as applauded for obliterating wide misconceptions about sex. At the time of his study, you did not talk about sex in any capacity. The film shows the consequences of this kind of society - married couples that believe oral sex makes it harder to conceive children and the old wives tale that masturbation can lead to "insanity, blindness, etc." But the movie - and the man - undermine much of his pursuit. We see how his objective, almost numb, look at sex led to the deterioration of his commitment to his wife, and the swinging that took place between himself, his wife, his research assistants, and their wives. Of course, as his revolutionary study gained nationwide attention, the backlash was immediate. He eventually lost his funding and his wife and research team grew discontent with his obsessiveness.

OK, the good stuff. The backstory on Kinsey is great. At the inception of his life's work, he is shown teaching probably the first Human Sexuality course at any college in America. In discussing Stimulation, Kinsey asks a shy co-ed what the only human organ that can expand 100 times its normal size. When she protests such an crude question, he informs her it is the human pupil. It's moments like that when the movie perfectly frames the central question that Kinsey tried to answer. Why are we so uptight about sex when we're all thinking about it? Why is it that man has always been intricate and casual about the sexual relations of animals (we impregnate cows, mate animals, etc.), but consider human sexual relations as off-limits? It is when Kinsey is fleshing out our favorite subject that we find it most interesting. It is also enlightening when Kinsey - or someone around him - catches him in his objective focus and reminds him that sex isn't like excretion. It is natural, to be sure, but its also wrapped up in feelings and emotions - things Kinsey admits towards the ends of the film cannot be measured by science.

The bad thing is that, clearly, the movie is all-too eager to paint Kinsey as a revolutionary. There is a troubling scene where, during his campaign for leniency for sex offenders, Kinsey tells a reporter "Everyone's sin is no one's sin." Kinsey is then shown lamenting that he was taken out of context. The problem with this movie is, in parts, you feel like the movie is also taking Kinsey out of context. There are multiple scenes - strategically placed - where we hear from the token archetypes of "sexual deviants." In a brief 2 minutes, we're supposed to believe that Kinsey's sex studies singlehandedly relieved them from their oppression at the hands of a hypocritical majority. Yet, the movie sheds light on Kinsey's own bisexuality, and comes to us from the writer/director of "Gods and Monsters." (a movie with a very pro-homosexual message -- the director himself is a gay rights activist). While I don't have a moral problem with any of this, I scrutinize it in the same way I would any artists' work in art like this. It troubles me somewhat when a biopic is done in a manner that conforms more to the terms and ideals of its author then of its subject. If Kinsey was such a great man, his story should be told, warts and all. Many Kinsey descendents criticized the film upon its release, with most offering little assistance to the films' producers. So much of the film deals with homosexuality exclusively (when the topic itself was only 1 of Kinsey's 6 reports), that us heterosexuals will probably feel a little left out.

Nevertheless, the movie is worth a watch. The first hour is golden, it's really the second that will let you down. The performances are also above average, though nothing spectacular. At the least, this movie will probably make you hit up google for some quick info on what Kinsey found in the over 100,000 subject interviews conducted. And since the movies is about sex, I expect most people to view it simply for that.

Rating: 6/10
If You Like "Kinsey," You'll Love/Reminds Noba Of: "A Beautiful Mind"