Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Starring: Michael Douglas, Matt Damon, Dan Aykroyd, Scott Bakula, Debbie Reynolds
"Too much of a good thing is wonderful," Liberace said often during his performances, which contained plenty of the over-the-top glitz that the famed pianist was famous for. He earned the title "Mr. Showmanship", not just for the excess, jewelry, the candelabra on top of the piano, and the bells and whistles which were part of his shows, but because of his charisma and ability to connect with audiences. Behind The Candelabra concentrates more on the personal side of the man, focusing mainly on his six-year relationship with a man 40 years his junior which began in the late 70's. The film never fails to be fascinating as it explores a man who humbly dubbed himself, "just a piano player", but who was caring, compassionate, generous, and flawed.
Liberace's homosexuality may have been the worst kept secret in Hollywood, although he successfully sued a London tabloid for libel which printed a story that he was gay . He was conscious of his public image, sticking with the story that "he just never found the right girl" and his high-priced attorney Seymour (Aykroyd) worked tirelessly to keep the facade going. But who really was fooled? I recall the 2005 film Good Night, and Good Luck in which Edward R. Murrow interviewed Liberace on his TV news show and Liberace tried to sell him the same bill of goods. After the interview concluded, Murrow just shook his head, not buying Liberace's story for one second.
Liberace met Scott Thorson (Damon) during a show circa 1976. Thorson was a teenager who was studying to be a veterinarian. When Thorson procured medicine to help cure Liberace's poodle's eye condition, the two become friends and then quickly lovers. Liberace bestowed gifts, cars, and even an apartment on Thorson, which according to his jealous houseboy Carvulli is something Liberace did often. "I've seen boys like you come and go, but I'm still here," he says, not believing that he would eventually be shown the door also.
The two fall in love, but things go sour when Liberace gets a facelift done and orders facial surgery for Thorson so he could look like a much younger version of himself. Thorson becomes addicted to diet pills and then cocaine in his attempts to stay thin and stay in Liberace's good graces. Liberace even has plans to adopt Thorson, which adds an element of creepiness to their relationship. Thorson loves Liberace, but keeps a certain detachment from him by saying he's bisexual and refusing to receive anal sex because "it's repugnant." Liberace responds by traveling to a remote Las Vegas adult bookstore and glory-holing with strange men. The pattern seems to be that Liberace lavishes his boy toys with endless gifts and then grows tired of them. Seymour has kicked out so many boy toys on Liberace's behalf that he approaches it with weary inevitability.
Behind The Candelabra unflinchingly shows Liberace in all of his glory, including shocking, frank scenes of gay sex, but yet Michael Douglas' performance isn't caricature. He is never overly flamboyant or over-the-top. He presents Liberace as both the loving, doting father figure for Thorson and also as a flawed, troubled, sometimes spiteful man. Liberace is a complicated, fully developed human being whom we know intimately. As Scott Thorson, Damon expertly expresses the conflict within himself as he sees things go wrong with Liberace. He wants to be more than a boy toy, but can't resist the lifestyle he has grown accustomed to. Behind The Candelabra is based on Thorson's autobiography, but it doesn't necessarily paint him as a wronged hero, nor does it paint Liberace as an egotistical monster. It is very even-handed.
I was especially moved by the closing scenes in which Liberace, sick with AIDS, reconnects with Thorson. On his deathbed, he and Thorson are able to reconcile their ugly past and move forward with forgiveness and compassion. Thorson attends Liberace's funeral and fantasizes that Liberace isn't in the casket, but putting on one last show just for him, singing "The Impossible Dream" and ascending in the heavens. It sounds hammy, I know, but it works.
Liberace died in 1987 after succumbing to complications from AIDS. Even at the end, he denied his homosexuality to the public and his handlers attempted to denote the cause of death as "heart failure stemming from anemia caused by consumption of an all watermelon diet." Uh huh. This didn't hold up long under medical scrutiny and the truth was later revealed. But it goes to show that Liberace showed his audience what they wanted to see and they ate it up. Even in death, he tried to do the same thing.
No comments:
Post a Comment