Rating: 5/5
As I walked into Cinema City to watch Behind The Candelabra, I chatted to a guy who worked there about the movie. "I hated Michael Douglas," the guy told me, "but this is one of the best movies I've seen lately, and he is amazing. This is what changed my mind about him." Enough said.
Michael Douglas has taken on bold and sexually-charged roles throughout his career, such as his erotic thrillers Fatal Attraction (1987) and Basic Instinct (1992), and his decision to portray legendary glamour puss Liberace is nothing short of audacious. But it also turns out to be one of the best performances of his career.
With all the glitz of Chicago and all the showbiz heartbreak of Almost Famous, Steven Soderbergh's new biopic of a young man's frantic affair with Liberace is a beautiful, star-studded showcase of fantastic acting, and shocking truth.
With all the glitz of Chicago and all the showbiz heartbreak of Almost Famous, Steven Soderbergh's new biopic of a young man's frantic affair with Liberace is a beautiful, star-studded showcase of fantastic acting, and shocking truth.
Invited backstage one night at a Liberace concert, young bisexual dog-trainer Scott Thorson (Matt Damon) is snapped up eagerly by the fabulous but lonely entertainer, who takes an instant liking to Scott's young spirit and willingness to listen. Scott's adoptive parents are apprehensive as they see him leave LA for Vegas to attend to the needs of "one of those San Francisco guys," and the newly inseparable couple become lovers.
Liberace lives a life reminiscent of the outrageously funny La Cage Aux Folles: everything is fur, feathers, glitter and crystals. He treats his dear young lover to furs, suits, jewellery, cars, a house and even a facial reconstruction to look more like him. The first act of their relationship is darkly humorous; in hindsight, what was presented to us so flamboyantly was really quite disturbing stuff.
The greatest source of comedy comes from Rob Lowe as the plasticised surgeon who fixes all the facial faux pas and prescribes the 'Hollywood Diet'. A combination of make-up, fantastic use of facial expression and wickedly funny delivery on Lowe's part makes his character so ridiculously hilarious, despite his questionable personality.
In the same fashion of so many good entertainment industry/ destructive relationship dramas, the second act sees the lovers drift apart, parted by differences in taste, suspicions and drug dependence. When Scott inevitably develops a cocaine habit, Damon's skill really shines through. The ridiculous garble of an angry drug addict could sound crazy if delivered wrongly, but Damon's energy and understanding makes every word sound sombre, pitiful and utterly realistic.
Douglas plays Liberace with such knowing, and such soul. His character, however flawed, is loveable - a tragic hero - throughout. Though we may want to, we never find ourselves able to doubt his love for Scott, and we see he is a misunderstood person.
Behind The Candelabra is truly one of the best films of the year. It's a shame it's so soon after the Oscar season: it may have been forgotten about by next year.
No comments:
Post a Comment