Behind the Candelabra

Congrats to HBO for having the guts to produce a script which mainstream studios refused to consider. "Behind The Candelabra" gives us a story about Liberace's personal life, from the POV of his one time lover, "blond Adonis" Scott Thorson. The plot spans some ten years, from 1977 to Liberace's death in 1987.

Aside from his public persona, Liberace (Michael Douglas) comes across as egotistical, daring, self-absorbed, and to some extent old-fashioned in his values and beliefs. Scott Thorson (Matt Damon) comes across as passive, a tad lazy, and lacking in foresight and intellect. The plot's first half presents us with a love story. In the second half, reality sets in. One gets the feeling that though there may have been love between the two, Scott is just one more object for Liberace to collect, which was easy for him given his wealth. That kind of material relationship speaks poorly of both men.

This film has a big cast, and some well-known names. Rob Lowe is terrific as a humorously bizarre plastic surgeon. Debbie Reynolds, as Lee's elderly mother, is so good that she is unrecognizable. Nearly all of the actors give fine performances. Michael Douglas especially deserves credit given that Liberace's mannerisms and image are so well known.

Lavish custom costumes, detailed and elaborate production design, tons of subtle and not-so-subtle makeup all combine to add enormously to the story's credibility, as does the cinematography. Interior lighting makes Liberace's on-stage performances come alive. Music is, not unexpectedly, what Liberace liked, to some extent stuffy and old-fashioned.

I was never a Liberace fan. But he was a much-beloved entertainer and talented pianist, who had a long show business career. That the Hollywood studios turned this script down tells us a great deal about Hollywood. The real hero in this film is not a character so much as it is HBO. Maybe there is hope that quality films can still be made, despite cowardly industry insiders.

For a film about a gay relationship - I had my doubts when I discovered the two male leads were to be played by straight men, but I couldn't be more convinced by their on-screen personas.

The kitch was eye-wateringly OTT, Douglas superbly needy yet controlling and Damon sucked into the whole charade. Rob Lowe's performance had me recoiling with his creepiness/plastic surgery face and it couldn't be farther from his more mainstream performances. For a role that appeared for only a few minutes - it stuck with me long after the film was over.

All in all, a very solid biopic film that unfortunately won't be Oscared as its been shown as TV movie in the USA. A great shame - Douglas and Damon deserve nominations - their *chemistry* is totally believable.

Final point - either Douglas is a superb pianist or the CGI of his hands on the keyboard is first rate!

The big studios passed on this film despite the fact that it is directed by Steven Soderbergh (Ocean's Eleven, Twelve, and Thirteen, Traffic), and would star Matt Damon and Michael Douglas. They thought is would be "too gay."

Well, thank goodness for HBO, as they jumped in and green-lighted the film, which is in competition for the Palme d'Or at Cannes.

All the action took place in the seventies and eighties. Liberace was about 40 years older than his new lover, Scott. Michael Douglas was fantastic as Liberace, and Matt Damon was also brilliant in the role of Scott.

Rob Lowe and Dan Ackroyd supplied outstanding support to the story.

Just the right amount of music; maybe there could have been a little more. This was a fascinating story about a man who was in love with himself far more than he could have been with Scott or anyone else.

By sheer coincidence, just two nights prior to the debut of 'Behind the Candelabra', I had the pleasure of viewing one of my favorite films, 1965's 'The Loved One', in which Liberace played 'Mr.Starker', a casket salesman. So it was with Liberace's voice, image and mannerisms fresh in my mind that I encountered Michael Douglas' portrayal of the man and boy, did he nail it.

The story itself is pretty much by the numbers with the kind of shorthand one expects from a TV movie bio; it's the performances that bring this to a certain level of greatness. Douglas all but disappears into the role, right from the start. It's truly an amazing thing to watch, and considering the subject, a brave and unapologetic performance. Matt Damon is equally impressive and while I have no idea if he does the real Scott Thorson justice, his transformation from an eager and innocent young man to a jaded, coked-up and surgically altered paranoid boy-toy is stark and convincing. Add to these chameleon-like performances an unrecognizable Debbie Reynolds and a truly unnerving Rob Lowe and you have two hours of truly compelling, master-class performances.

Highly recommended.

I decided to watch this film on HBO because I thought it would be a hoot - one of those catastrophic and pretentious productions which are so laughable. Within 20 minutes I realized that the film was rather important. Michael Douglas captures the late Liberace's mannerisms and voice with astonishing ease. He is quite stellar in his performance, and I see him now in a new light. Matt Damon is excellent as Scott, his protégé. The personages involved are deeply complex, even if one is only familiar with the contemporary "National Enquirer" reports one realizes their is something one can not quite understand about "Lee & Scott's" relationship. Douglas and Damon are brilliant in delving into these characters. They are unrecognizable, at times, from the familiar roles we all know of them. I think the film well worth watching. As a bonus, Matt Damon shows his bum on several occasions, for those who are interested; if not, one cannot help but be interested in the wonderful performances from two of Hollywood's great stars! A courageous undertaking well done indeed!!!