Behind the Candelabra (2013)
Rating- 15
Running Time- 1 hour 58 minutes
Directed by- Steven Soderbergh
Written by- Richard LaGravenese
Upon seeing the trailer for Steven Soderbergh’s Behind the Candelabra I was left intrigued if not confused. From it I gathered that it would be a light-hearted biopic of famous pianist Liberace. After seeing the film I realise that my expectations were somewhat off the mark.
Upon seeing the trailer for Steven Soderbergh’s Behind the Candelabra I was left intrigued if not confused. From it I gathered that it would be a light-hearted biopic of famous pianist Liberace. After seeing the film I realise that my expectations were somewhat off the mark.
The film, first and foremost, is not a biopic of Liberace but is more of a character driven drama of the relationship between Scott Thorson (Matt Damon) and the famous entertainer. This allows for the film to adopt an interesting style; it is light-hearted on the surface but is surprisingly dark when delved into. This is epitomised through the character of Liberace (Michael Douglas) himself. His outwardly warm exterior hides his covertly cold style. This doesn’t become obviously apparent until close to the end of the movie but is alluded to throughout. There is a shot near the beginning of the film, during the scene in which the pianist is first coming on to Scott (please enunciate), where Scott stands in front of a window and in the reflection Liberace slowly approaches, the dynamic of the shot makes him seem like some form of monster from a classic horror movie closing in on his pray. There are many shots like this and the more the film goes on the more we feel on edge as it seems at any moment Liberace could completely ruin Scott’s life. This more than anything else is what makes us empathise with Scott and this is probably the greatest success of the movie.
Where the film falls down though, in my opinion, is the lack of humour. I realise that the makers were attempting to make a drama and not a comedy but I couldn’t help feeling that the film would have benefitted from more genuinely funny moments. It is not a film void of all humour, the character of Dr. Jack Startz (Rob Lowe) is particularly comedic, but other than that there isn’t really anything that would make you laugh or even smile. It is debatable as to whether the film really needs to contain any truly funny moments but I feel that it would have transformed the film from an average drama to a very good all round movie.
In fact the only thing keeping this film watchable is the excellent performances of both Douglas and Damon. They are both established actors and so maybe it should be expected but you do truly buy into both of these characters and understand their emotions and that’s a tribute to the acting rather than the script which is flimsy at times. And the good performances don’t stop at the two lead roles; this is a film carried by its acting, Dan Aykroyd’s performance as Liberace’s agent is in particular fantastic.
All in all, I feel that this is a decent film that could have been much better but also could have been much worse. I would say it’s worth a watch but I’d be lying unless you’re a big fan of Liberace or find entertainment in deciphering complex clues to unlock hidden characteristics. So if you’re a fan of famous pianists (careful) or an aspiring psychiatrist you’ll probably enjoy the movie but for everyone else it’s probably worth a miss.
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| Final Rating. Three Stars. |
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