My Life With Liberace (Behind the Candelabra)
Steven Soderbergh:
My Life With Liberace (Behind the Candelabra) (USA, 2013)
118 min. - English - Finnish subtitles
K-12
My Life With Liberace (original title Behind the Candelabra), a story of the renowned show pianist was the talk of Cannes Film Festival in 2013. With devoted first class actors (Michael Douglas and Matt Damon) and a smart script, the story about a narcissistic, closeted homosexual living in the world of luxury manages to avoid the trap of just telling jokes about gay flamboyance. Director Steven Soderbergh isnā€t interested in pointing fingers at or mocking his leading characters. Instead, he seems to understand the characters living in the crossfire of fame, passion, power games and hypocrisy.
This film reminds us how massive a character Liberace was all the way until the 1970s. This man was known everywhere and he sold tens of millions of records. He was once the best-paid entertainer in the world, and he is the father of the wry saying, ā€I cried all the way to the bankā€. Soderbergh introduces us to a conflicted superstar; Michael Douglasā€ Liberace is excessive, narcissistic, lewd, power-hungry and decadent. However, under the surface, he is also a weak and very human person craving for love and passion.
My Life With Liberace is based on the memoirs of Scott Thorston, Liberaceā€s lover. Even though the film touches upon practically all of the traditional seven deadly sins, it is still a subtle story about love, set in the shiny world of Las Vegas.
Sat 16th Nov at 1:30pm Tapio 2