A joy to watch!

Rating: 8/10 (16 July 2013)

Steven Soderbergh's biographical drama about the late, great pianist and entertainer, Walter Liberace premiered at the Cannes Film Festival about a week ago and has received mostly positive reviews from film critics. Actually, this is not a biography of Liberace at all. It is based on the autobiographical novel of the same name by Scott Thorson. It tells the story of his obsessive sexual relationship with Liberace. Matt Damon plays Thorson in the leading role of the film and Academy Award winner Micheal Douglas plays Liberace. The film opens with Scott sitting in a club, a man approaches him and begins to flirt with him. It becomes obvious that he is gay. By day, Scott works on film sets with animals used for stunts and hopes to become a veterinarian. One day he is invited to accompany a film producer to one of Liberace's shows. After the show, Scott is invited backstage to meet the man himself. They get along well and soon enough he is invited to Liberace's house. Liberace takes a liking for him and invites Scott to work for him. They soon develop a bond that becomes a serious sexual relationship.
I will start off by saying if you decide to watch this movie be ready for some uncomfortable moments. That aside I have to say that I thought this film was excellent. Micheal Douglas delivered a fantastic performance and I would not be surprised if he will be nominated for an "Oscar" next year. Damon also did a great job at portraying a naive, young and troubled man. The film itself was just fascinating. Soderbergh perfectly balanced comedy and drama as well as doing a great job at creating the overall tone and style of the film without coming off as overly stylish. It's really a shame that he has said that this is to be his last feature film.
This is a daring, engrossing and incredibly well made film. Though some scenes may seem gratuitous and the style may be too flashy for some, Matt Damon and Micheal Douglas deliver stellar performances that boasted the film to even greater heights. "Behind the Candelabra" is one of my favorite films of 2013 so far, I highly recommend it.