Kinsey (2004)
85%RT Audience Score: 75%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 Oscar
17 wins & 51 nominations total
A biopic of the sex researcher is hailed as adventurous, clever, and subversive, with fine performances by Liam Neeson and Laura Linney
If you’re looking for a movie that’s both educational and entertaining, Kinsey is the perfect pick. Liam Neeson’s performance as the pioneering sex researcher is nothing short of fearless, and the film’s celebration of diversity and the transformative power of ideas is invigorating. But let’s be clear, this movie is not for kids. So, if you’re looking for a family-friendly flick, you might want to look elsewhere. Otherwise, sit back, relax, and enjoy the outrageous humor and authentic truth that Kinsey has to offer.
Production Company(ies)
Twentieth Century Fox, Gordon Company, Silver Pictures,
Distributor
Fox
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Fordham University – 441 E. Fordham Road. Rose Hill, Bronx, New York City, New York, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for pervasive sexual content, including some graphic images and descriptions
Year of Release
2005
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Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
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Runtime:1h 58m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Nov 12, 2004 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): May 17, 2005
Genre(s)
Biography
Keyword(s)
Worldwide gross: $17,050,017
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $25,983,942
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,609
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 2,833,581
US/Canada gross: $10,254,979
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $15,628,417
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,486
US/Canada opening weekend: $169,038
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $257,611
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,584
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $11,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $16,763,817
Production budget ranking: 1,464
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $9,027,315
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $192,810
ROI to date (est.): 1%
ROI ranking: 1,392
Laura Linney – Clara McMillen
Chris O’Donnell – Wardell Pomeroy
Peter Sarsgaard – Clyde Martin
Timothy Hutton – Paul Gebhard
John Lithgow – Alfred Sequine Kinsey
Director(s)
Bill Condon
Writer(s)
Bill Condon
Producer(s)
Gail Mutrux
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
17 wins & 51 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (197) | Top Critics (55) | Fresh (177) | Rotten (20)
For a movie so frank and explicit, Kinsey has a soft spirit…Kinsey is a celebration of diversity; it’s about the solace knowledge can bring.
March 13, 2018
David Ansen
Newsweek
TOP CRITIC
Great movie, but not for kids.
December 24, 2010 | Rating: 4/5
Nell Minow
Common Sense Media
TOP CRITIC
He’s a terribly flawed man but instead of soapy histrionics, Condon underlines the tragedy with outrageous humour.
January 7, 2008 | Rating: 4/5
Stella Papamichael
BBC.com
TOP CRITIC
Liam Neeson somehow knits Kinsey’s qualities together in a likeable human pattern.
January 17, 2006
Sandra Hall
Sydney Morning Herald
TOP CRITIC
Captures authentic truth by refusing to lionize its far-from-perfect subject.
May 4, 2005
Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness
TOP CRITIC
‘An invigorating, revealing movie about the transformative power of ideas.’
March 23, 2005 | Rating: 4/5
Jeannette Catsoulis
Las Vegas Mercury
TOP CRITIC
Historical films should serve to reanimate the past with honesty, insight and a certain degree of entertainment,Bill Condon’s Kinsey is a preeminent example of this, and it also has the uncommon distinction of real, unadulterated accuracy.
January 13, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
Jack Hawkins
HeyUGuys
With honesty, frankness and explicit authenticity Kinsey becomes one of 2004’s best pictures.
September 13, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4.0
Richard Propes
TheIndependentCritic.com
“Kinsey,” like the pioneering sex researcher profiled therein, reduces its subject to a bit of a dry academic exercise.
September 5, 2015 | Rating: 2.5/4
David N. Butterworth
rec.arts.movies.reviews
A seriously by-the-numbers biopic…
July 1, 2012 | Rating: 1.5/4
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
Liam Neeson delivers a fearless portrait of a unique individual.
July 6, 2010 | Rating: 3.5/5
Matthew Pejkovic
Matt’s Movie Reviews
Fascinating as well as entertaining…
April 29, 2009
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed…
Plot
Called “Prok” as an adult (short for Professor Kinsey), Alfred Kinsey, Jr. (Liam Neeson) has been interested in biology since he was a child growing up in the early twentieth century, despite the criticisms of such being evil nonsense from his overbearing and devoutly Christian father, Professor Alfred Seguine Kinsey (John Lithgow). Prok goes on to become a biology professor at Indiana University, initially focusing on the study of gall wasps. But those studies, in combination with questions from his students, coming to terms with the needs of sex with his own wife, a former student of his named Clara McMillen (Laura Linney) (whom he calls Mac), and what he sees as the gross misinformation on the subject currently within popular belief makes him change his focus to human sexuality. Many of those gross untruths – as he sees them – are that oral sex and masturbation cause a slew of maladies, which are perpetuated by what is presented in the university’s hygiene class taught by Professor Thurman Rice (Tim Curry). With the approval of faculty head Herman Wells (Oliver Platt), Prok starts teaching his own wildly popular marriage course, talking about sex in a straightforwardly academic fashion. When he sees that morals don’t necessarily mirror sexual behavior, he decides to conduct a massive sex survey with the assistance of students Wardell Pomeroy (Chris O’Donnell), Clyde Martin (Peter Sarsgaard), and Paul Gebhard (Timothy Hutton). He faces the issue of the funding required for the survey and public and political response to this controversial, and oft seen as taboo, subject. But in conducting the survey, he and Mac also face the issue of their own sexuality in relationship to their marriage, and the emotional and cultural aspects behind it, such as the notion of love.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
NA
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