"Too much of a good thing is wonderful" This is Behind the Candelabra. This biographical drama film directed by Steven Soderbergh, adapted by Richard LaGravenese, based on Richard Thorson's memoir Behind the Candelabra: My Life with Liberace (1988). World-famous pianist Liberace takes much-younger Scott Thorson as a lover, but the relationship deteriorates when Liberace takes other bedmates and Thorson becomes addicted to drugs.
During the filming of Traffic (2000), Soderbergh first spoke with Michael Douglas about the idea of doing a Liberace film, but had trouble figuring out an angle for it that would differentiate it from a traditional biopic. In the summer of 2008, Soderbergh contacted LaGravenese with the idea of adapting Thorson's memoir. The film spent several years in development while Soderbergh had difficulty securing funding, with Hollywood studios saying it was "too gay". In a January 2013 New York Post interview, Soderbergh said that the film was originally intended for theatrical release, but was ultimately produced by and aired on HBO instead. He commented: "Nobody would make it, we went to everybody in town. They all said it was too gay. And this is after Brokeback Mountain (2005), by the way, which is not as funny as this movie. I was stunned. It made no sense to any of us." During this time, Douglas and Matt Damon remained adamant that they would appear in the film despite its lengthy development. Ultimately in September 2008, the project was officially announced with Douglas as Liberace alongside Damon as Thorson. The film was picked up by HBO Films. However, production was delayed due when Douglas began treatment for stage IV throat cancer in 2010. In mid November 2011, with a budget of $23 million, principal photography commenced, and lasted for thirty days throughout California and Nevada. Costume designer Ellen Mirojnick and her team had to reproduce a large number of Liberace's iconic stage outfits for this film. These included a copy of Liberace's 16 foot-long white virgin fox fur coat. Soderbergh is particularly famous for his fast rhythm shooting and editing, with ideas clearly conceived beforehand and no running over schedule. According to Damon, filming was completed on a Friday and Soderbergh had edited a first cut by the following Monday. While promoting the film, Soderbergh went on to explain that this would be his last directorial effort for the time being. It is also the last film to feature a musical score by composer Marvin Hamlisch, who died on August 6, 2012.
The film stars Michael Douglas, Matt Damon, Dan Aykroyd, Rob Lowe, and Debbie Reynolds. The beautifully realised gay love story is imbued with heartbreakingly universal and moving performances by the cast, especially that of Douglas and Damon.
The real achievement of Behind the Candelabra is not that it tells a universal love story that happens to have gay characters in it, but that it tells a distinctively gay story that happens to be so well told that any feeling person can be moved by it.
Simon says Behind the Candelabra receives:
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