KINSEY

"Let's talk about sex," proclaims the movie poster for Kinsey. And talk, the film does.

There is a lot of talk in Kinsey, and much of it is surprisingly graphic. But is it sexy? Well, no. You will most likely not be titillated by Kinsey, but you certainly might learn something.

I can't even imagine the impact that Alfred Kinsey's studies had on the country in the late 1940s, when he initially published his groundbreaking scientific study "Sexuality of the Human Male." Played by Liam Neeson, with an earnestness as obvious as his ridiculous brush haircut, Kinsey was a man who figured that if he himself was looking for answers about sexuality, well, probably others would be interested in the information as well.

The film is structured as a standard biopic. We first meet Kinsey as a boy, under the iron thumb of his preacher father (John Lithgow, who is hilariously memorable with his sexual hellfire-and-damnation ruminations). When he is a young man, Kinsey flees the repression and disapproval of his home, goes to college, changes majors, and decides to study biology, against the wishes of his father. But it is in college that he flourishes; he becomes a beloved professor that his students nickname "Prok" (for Professor K), and meets and marries a wholesome coed nicknamed "Mac" (the always solid Laura Linney).

After a disasterous wedding night (one of the more cringe-worthy scenes of the year), Prok and Mac search for a sort of sex counseling, and find that there really are no experts on the subject for the everyday person. Thus Kinsey begins his research of the sexual behavior of humans, first starting with teaching an extremely controversial "marriage" course at Indiana University (some of these scenes may make you gasp and laugh at the same time, mirroring the reaction of the students onscreen), then progressing to his groundbreaking interviewing of 18,000 Americans from all walks of life about their most intimate sexual habits and experiences.

Kinsey reminded me more than a little of A Beautiful Mind. Both films are portrayals of brilliant men, excessively passionate about their work, who are in constant struggle against the academic system. And though each main character has a token beautiful woman standing at his side, the tales are actually love stories of a different sort: the love story between an academic with his work. And as interesting as that is, both come across as a films of dry intellect more than emotion. If you want an in-depth character study of any of the people portrayed, you might be a little disappointed.

But at the same time, Kinsey is an entertaining film. It is surprisingly funny and witty (which serves to distract from some of the more shocking topics), and the cast is, of course, very strong. Particularly good is Peter Sarsgaard, as the sexy, sleepy-eyed grad student who becomes part of Kinsey's team, and helps Kinsey explore, um, another side of his own sexuality. Many of the bit players also leave powerful impressions, like William Sadler's creepy-as-hell pedophile, and Lynn Redgrave's brief but poignant cameo that sums up the impact of Kinsey's groundbreaking work in one heartbreaking scene.

Kinsey the film seems strangely timely, as pointed out by more than one person in the audience after the film. In the film, the country first embraces Kinsey's bold work as a sensation, but then turns against him as the tide of the country's "moral values" shifts into the conservative McCarthy era. As far forward as Kinsey pushed the discussion of the myriad of human sexuality and sexual behavior, the powers that be were outraged at his findings, specifically in regards to women and homosexuality. As far as we've come in the sexual revolution, it seems lately that we have not travelled as far as we would have hoped.