Behind the Candelabra
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Cast: Michael Douglas, Matt Damon, Rob Lowe, Scott Bakula, Dan Aykroyd, Debbie Reynolds, Tom Papa
Rating: (M)
4 stars (out of 5)
Michael Douglas and Matt Damon are an unlikely choice to tell the story of Liberace's secret love.
But after seeing the film, it's difficult to imagine any other actors doing better.
Damon plays the part of Scott Thorson, who wrote the ''tell-all'' memoir the screenplay is based on. Taken to Vegas to see a Liberace show, Thorson attracts the attention of the piano-playing eccentric, who immediately seizes the opportunity to seduce the younger man.
Michael Douglas is almost unrecognisable as the mincing entertainer with a voracious sexual appetite.
Holed up in his gaudy mansion, Liberace's powerful management team, led by Seymour Heller (Dan Aykroyd), deflects media suspicion about his sexuality while he sets about moulding Thorson into the very image of his younger self.
At the height of his fame, Liberace was one of the highest-paid entertainers in the world, so with money no object, his questionable taste and sexual proclivities run rampant.
Douglas' affected voice and creepy mannerisms are brilliant, as is Damon's emotional coming-of-age performance. The pair don't shy from the intense physical bond that first drew them together but would ultimately tear them apart.
Called ''too gay'' by the Hollywood studios which passed it up, Behind the Candelbra's subsequent praise is thoroughly deserved.
Fantastic costumes, kitsch period detail and assured directing are enhanced by superb performances that mix camp humour and emotional gravitas.
Best thing: while Douglas is excellent, Rob Lowe's seedy physician is inspired.
Worst thing: not having enough time to explore some of the other ''legends'' associated with Liberace's life.
See it with: a coat made of virgin fox fur?
