Behind the Candelabra (2013)

A chronicle of the tempestuous six year romance between megastar singer, Liberace, and his young lover, Scott Thorson.

Director:

Steven Soderbergh

Writers:

Richard LaGravenese (screenplay), Scott Thorson (book)

Stars:

Michael Douglas, Matt Damon, Scott Bakula

Won 2 Golden Globes. Another 41 wins & 49 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matt Damon	...	Scott Thorson
Scott Bakula	...	Bob Black
Eric Zuckerman	...	Lou
Eddie Jemison	...	Assistant Director
Randy Lowell	...	Director
Tom Roach	...	Stunt Actor
Shamus Cooley	...	Camera Assistant
John Smutny	...	Sound Mixer
Jane Morris	...	Rose Carracappa
Garrett M. Brown	...	Joe Carracappa
Michael Douglas	...	Liberace
Pat Asanti	...	George Liberace
Debbie Reynolds	...	Frances Liberace
Casey Kramer	...	Dora Liberace
Cheyenne Jackson	...	Billy Leatherwood

Storyline

Scott Thorson, a young bisexual man raised in foster homes, is introduced to flamboyant entertainment giant Liberace and quickly finds himself in a romantic relationship with the legendary pianist. Swaddled in wealth and excess, Scott and Liberace have a long affair, one that eventually Scott begins to find suffocating. Kept away from the outside world by the flashily effeminate yet deeply closeted Liberace, and submitting to extreme makeovers and even plastic surgery at the behest of his lover, Scott eventually rebels. When Liberace finds himself a new lover, Scott is tossed on the street. He then seeks legal redress for what he feels he has lost. But throughout, the bond between the young man and the star never completely tears.

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Plot Keywords:

pianist | gay adoption | boy toy | gay relationship | based on real person | 

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Taglines:

"Too much of a good thing is wonderful"

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 June 2013 (UK)

Also Known As:

Liberace

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$23,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jerry Weintraub Productions, HBO Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Special effects were used to digitally graft the actor's head onto the body of Philip Fortenberry, a Juilliard-trained Liberace virtuoso who was the in-house entertainer at the (now closed) Liberace Museum in Las Vegas for years.

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Goofs

At Liberace's funeral the Catholic priest says "the Lord be with you" and the congregation answers "and with your spirit." In 1987, the year Liberace died, the response was "and also with you." It didn't change to "and with your spirit" until about 20 years later.

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Quotes

Liberace: All of a sudden we're sounding like a gay Lucy and Ricky. "Oh, Ricky, you wouldn't fuck me up the ass if you loved me!"
Scott Thorson: Why am I the Lucy?
Liberace: Because I'm the bandleader with the nightclub act.

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Connections

Featured in 20th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2014)

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Soundtracks

The Liberace Boogie
Written by Liberace
Piano Performed by Randy Kerber

User Reviews

Master Class

By sheer coincidence, just two nights prior to the debut of 'Behind the Candelabra', I had the pleasure of viewing one of my favorite films, 1965's 'The Loved One', in which Liberace played 'Mr.Starker', a casket salesman. So it was with Liberace's voice, image and mannerisms fresh in my mind that I encountered Michael Douglas' portrayal of the man and boy, did he nail it.

The story itself is pretty much by the numbers with the kind of shorthand one expects from a TV movie bio; it's the performances that bring this to a certain level of greatness. Douglas all but disappears into the role, right from the start. It's truly an amazing thing to watch, and considering the subject, a brave and unapologetic performance. Matt Damon is equally impressive and while I have no idea if he does the real Scott Thorson justice, his transformation from an eager and innocent young man to a jaded, coked-up and surgically altered paranoid boy-toy is stark and convincing. Add to these chameleon-like performances an unrecognizable Debbie Reynolds and a truly unnerving Rob Lowe and you have two hours of truly compelling, master-class performances.

Highly recommended.