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Writer/director Bill Condon (Gods and Monsters) takes on the life and work of sexual research pioneer Alfred Kinsey, whose teachings and publications caused a national uproar in the late ’40s and 50s. If you think America is sexually prudish and repressed now, try to imagine what it was like back in Kinsey’s day, with most people constantly wondering, “Am I normal?” Before the work of Kinsey and other researchers in this important field of study, people believed masturbation would cause insanity and that anything other than married missionary sex was a rare abomination deserving of physical violence and even death. Kinsey’s work culminated in the publication of Sexual Behavior in the Human Male and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female, two of the most wildly successful text books ever published. Kinsey shined a light where society was too afraid to look, and by doing so, he enlightened the world and — as a cameo appearance by Lynn Redgrave demonstrates — he saved lives. It’s a noble topic for a film, and Condon does a great job with the material — focusing on the scientific research, but giving us just enough back story to appreciate where Kinsey was coming from.

Liam Neeson does a fine job portraying Kinsey, whose cold, laser focus made him awkward in most social circles. Laura Linney plays his stalwart wife, Clara. Linney’s performance goes a long way in humanizing Kinsey for the audience. The superb supporting cast includes Peter Sarsgaard as a student assistant who develops special relationships with both Alfred and Clara, Oliver Platt as Indiana University’s beloved president Herman B. Wells, and John Lithgow as Alfred’s stern, pious father.

The ending of the film is a little too abrupt for me — I’d like to have seen at least a coda reminding audiences about Kinsey’s lasting legacy, which includes the ongoing research of the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana (the town I’m proud to call home). But Kinsey is otherwise a great biopic with an important message, a healthy sense of humor, and a handful of solid performances. With Tim Curry, Veronica Cartwright, Timothy Hutton, Dylan Baker, Chris O’Donnell, and William Sadler.

Oscar Nomination: Best Supporting Actress (Laura Linney)