Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Behind the Candelabra’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

Despite the incredible wealth of motion pictures that Hollywood sends our way year after year, there are unfortunately quite a few screenplays out there that never make their way to the silver screen. This is an issue that can sometimes be related to timing for said screenplay, or the script itself needs plenty more work before it’s ready to be filmed. Or unfortunately, sometimes the story is ahead of its time and people aren’t quite ready to embrace its relevance.
 
These are the kinds of scripts that cause great debates at the big studios, as producers and executives wonder if the story in question can be presented to the masses and still be successful and alas, often times, if it cannot meet their criteria in the slightest, the studio passes and that wonderful script remains on a shelf. But a great story can never be held back for too long and when the story is powerful enough and intelligent enough, somehow, someway, it finds a way to be told and one such film that meets that criteria is the wonderfully brilliant film, Behind the Candelabra.
 
Released in 2013 on HBO, this particular tale takes us into the life and times of music sensation Liberace, and the incredible romance that he and a younger man named Scott Thorson shared from 1977-1982 and well…what makes this film so progressive and relevant to the times is the sheer fact that this is an up close and honest look at a homosexual relationship. There’s little held back in this motion picture, and we are privy to all the ups and downs of Scott and Liberace’s love and when all is said and done, this is an outright brilliant story. 

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However, despite its brilliance this was not an easy story to bring to production. After all, and unfortunately, there was resistance to greenlight this film from the studios simply because the subject matter was more or less considered taboo, which is odd when one considers that this was a grand opportunity to do something bold and there was some serious star power attached to this movie as well. With Michael Douglas and Matt Damon in the lead roles and Steven Soderbergh behind the camera, and a chance to be a pioneer in the business, it should have been a no brainer to say yes to this one…and thankfully HBO did, when no one else would.
 
Because the end result of putting together this kind of talent with a quality story such as this, is an engaging tale that sucks you in by way of some dynamic characters who at their core, are flawed and broken, and really that makes this film a tragic love story when all is said and done, and it is that tragedy that is so incredibly compelling. All of the insecurities and worries that we experience in a relationship are on display here, and we are dropped right into the middle of a torrid love affair between two men who are desperate to be loved over anything else and their fear of being alone is what destroys the wonder of their love.
 
Of course, that kind of a story simply doesn’t work without incredible performances and Michael Douglas and Matt Damon are at their best here. Damon channels the naïveté of youth in wonderful fashion and Douglas, well he simply becomes Liberace to the point where there are moments when you don’t know where Douglas begins and Liberace ends. Either way, this is a wonderful motion picture, one that is clearly ahead of its time by presenting a homosexual couple as the people they are without the use of any gimmicks or stereotypes and it’s a film that needs to be seen and celebrated and if by chance you have HBO in any form or fashion, give it look, you won’t be disappointed. 

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