Director: Steven Soderbergh
UK Release Date: 7th June 2013
Running Time: 118 minutes
Starring: Michael Douglas, Matt Damon, Eric Zuckerman, Dan Aykroyd
"Behind the Candelabra" stars Matt Damon and Michael Douglas in roles that are both challenging and eccentric. The good thing is, they are both excellent in their portrayals of the titular characters in the film - Liberace and Scott Thorson. The film itself is good but does not reach the heights of the performances that both Damon and Douglas give.
The film focusses on the relationship of Liberace (Douglas) and Scott Thorson (Damon). The film is based on the real memoir written by Thorson called Behind the Candelabra: My Life with Liberace which was published in 1988. The film recounts how the two of them meet and interact with each other and ends with Liberace's death.
As a film "Behind the Candelabra" is presented in a good way. It is easy to follow and portrays the story well. The background music throughout is in true Steven Soderbergh style and similarities can be drawn between this and the films in the Oceans film series. Although this film is not billed as a comedy it can be quite amusing at times. Firstly it is quite funny to see Douglas and Damon is the roles they play as they are so different to what they have done before, and what we are used to. This is more so for Damon who usually plays an action based character like he does in "Elysium" (2013) and the Bourne Trilogy.
Staying with Damon as Scott Thorson - it really is a tremendous performance. As we said, it is very different to what we have seen him do before but he plays the role really well and is convincing. It is funny to see him with a face that has been modified and even by the end you are still not quite used to it but this does not take away from how good Damon is in "Behind the Candelabra".
Equally good is Douglas as Liberace himself. A spectacular performance that is a near on perfect representation of Liberace, Douglas shows his greatness as he has done before. At first it is odd to see Douglas play a character like this but we felt more accustomed to it compared to Damon's portrayal of Thorson.
"Behind the Candelabra" is a highly entertaining and well thought out film. It flows relatively easy throughout and is flamboyant in each scene while featuring great acting performances provided by Douglas and Damon. This film really depicts how loneliness can creep up on someone but does it in a way that is not obvious. It is not something you realize while watching - but if you think in more depth about the film afterwards you realize it. However, the film is funny, exciting and gives a good account of the life and times of Liberace and Scott Thorson. A nice watch.
M+F Rating: 7/10
Reviewed by M+F Reviews.
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