I watched "Behind the Candelabra" which is an HBO movie about pianist Liberace's last 10 years of life and most notably, his relationship with Scott Thorson. It was directed by Steven Soderbergh and stars Michael Douglas as Liberace & Matt Damon as Thorson. I found it to be a decent, entertaining movie.
In the late 70s, Scott Thorson is introduced to Liberace by Hollywood producer Bob Black (excellently played by Scott Bakula) and Liberace immediately takes a liking to the young, gay Thorson. Liberace eventually hires Thorson to become an "assistant" after Thorson helps him with one of his dogs. But he really "hires" him to be his lover. Liberace wants to mold Thorson in his own image, going so far as to having him undergo numerous plastic surgeries at the hands of Dr. Jack Startz (perfectly played by Rob Lowe) in order to look more like Liberace. As the years pass, their relationship becomes severely strained mostly due to Thorson's drug abuse and Liberace's desire to date other people. They eventually end their relationship rather dramatically. And then eventually, Liberace succumbs to AIDS but not before Scott pays him one last, emotional visit.
The two main actors, Damon & Douglas, play their characters wonderfully. Douglas in particular portrays Liberace's flamboyance & quirkiness perfectly. Damon captures Scott's struggles & troubles very realistically. This movie is darkly humorous at times and always entertaining. It shows a very different side to being a celebrity which is probably fairly realistic.
I liked this movie...6.5/10 stars
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