‎Behind the Candelabra (2013) directed by Steven Soderbergh • Reviews, film + cast • Letterboxd

Behind the Candelabra

2013 Directed by Steven Soderbergh

Too much of a good thing is wonderful

Based on the autobiographical novel, the tempestuous 6-year relationship between Liberace and his (much younger) lover, Scott Thorson, is recounted.

Michael Douglas Matt Damon Rob Lowe Dan Aykroyd Scott Bakula Debbie Reynolds Cheyenne Jackson Paul Reiser Boyd Holbrook Nicky Katt Eddie Jemison Mike O'Malley Josh Meyers David Koechner Krystal Ellsworth Lisa Frantz Austin Stowell Eric Zuckerman Randy Lowell Tom Roach Shamus Cooley John Smutny Jane Morris Garrett M. Brown Pat Asanti Casey Kramer Tom Papa James Kulick Bruce Ramsay Show All…

118 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Hollie Horror ★★★½ 9

In this episode of Quantum Leap Dr. Sam Beckett leaps into the life of Bob Black, a procurer of young men for Liberace.
Review by Adam Cook ★★★½ 11

If Steven Soderbergh really has retired from making feature films he leaves on a high, first with the twisty pharmaceutical thriller, Side Effects, and now with this made-for-TV Liberace biopic. It’s quite a double-punch swansong that demonstrates his versatility and ability to coax great performances out of his actors. Based on Scott Thorston’s account of his six-year relationship with famed pianist, Liberace, Behind the Candelabra, reveals the not-so hidden life of one of the world’s most flamboyant performers.

Although it is a shame Soderbergh had to turn to the more adventurous HBO to finally get his long in gestation biopic made (it is hard to know quite what the studios were so worried about) little appears lost in the transition…
Review by Paul Robinson ★★★★ 5

The film deemed to gay for Hollywood even after the much loved Brokeback Mountain is a great picture, and will continue to show my pleas to Steven Soderbergh to not give up on Cinema so we don’t lose one of the most entertaining and unique eyes in film. Though his contributions to T.V. will be something everyone should be excited for.

Behind the Candelabra the story of Pianist Liberace played terrifically by Michael Douglas and his relationship with a much younger man Scott Thorson played by Matt Damon. A film I was expecting to be way over the top and become a camp act much like Liberace’s real life stage show. But this is a warts and all story of…
Review by TajLV ★★★★ 2

No studio wanted to produce this. Director Steven Soderbergh first mentioned the project idea to Michael Douglas during the filming of Traffic in 2000, but the powers of cinemadom judged the story "too gay to be commercial," so it languished in need of backing till HBO finally took a gamble on it as a made-for-TV movie. Two Golden Globes and eleven Primetime Emmy Awards later, Soderbergh's vision is complete, and the tale of the last decade in the life of the world's most extravagant piano-playing showman has been told, masterfully.

When I first heard Douglas was going to play Liberace, I thought to myself, "No way! The guy who made it with Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct? The guy who's…
Review by I.V. ★★★★

Soderbergh does Fassbinder, essentially.

Jonathan Rosenbaum on Fox and His Friends: "At one point the camera is even stationed on a floor a moment before the hapless hero slips and falls, in sadistic anticipation of his mishap. As with much of Fassbinder's work, his cruelty complicates rather than negates his mordant, on-target social analysis." That's pretty much this movie in a nutshell.
Review by Jake Kwiatkowski ★★★★★ 4

This is it. This is peak Soderbergh. I will be in absolute awe if I find another one of his movies topping this one. I'm wholly convinced Steven Soderbergh is one of the greatest to ever do it.

Recent reviews

Review by Frankco Lamerikx ★★★

Fairly standard biographical picture with a much too narrow scope. Michael Dougles and Matt Damon are great, and so is some of the photography. But overall, this is the kind of film that doesn't leave a lasting impression.
Review by EmmetDotan ★★★★

As a study of a relationship in a tenuous vacuum, it’s outstanding. Michael Douglas at his most vulnerable.
Review by Skrim ★★★½

“People ask me how I play the piano with all this jewelry on, and I say: very well indeed.”

Michael Douglas does a terrific Liberace. What else matters? Thats all the movie needs.
Review by mizumono ★★★½

67/100

To dream the impossible dream. To be better far than you are. To try, when your arms are too weary.

Tempestad.

Los biopic no son lo mío pero vaya que he disfrutado éste. Behind the Candelabra relata los últimos años de Liberace y su particular relación, además de toda su dinámica de fama y fortuna para la época. Creo que lo que más me llamó la atención fue el performance de Michael Douglas, siempre brillante, también el de Matt Damon y lo cercano que se sintió todo, fluido diría yo, también lo puntual que fue, no sentí que hubo relleno o cosas superfluas y eso es importantísimo. Lo tempestuoso de la relación de Liberace con Scott podría ser el…
Review by michaeldr ★★★½

A wonderfully orchestrated biopic by Soderbergh that takes an otherwise unremarkable story and makes it a bit more interesting in a way only he can do. With phenomenal camera movements and playful focus ranges for the second half of the film, Soderbergh gives audiences what they expect, with a bit of flair that Liberace would appreciate. While nothing as groundbreaking as some of his other work, it still remains Soderbergh through and through
Review by emma ★★★

Wow, Sam Seaborn really let himself go after going to California
Review by Robyn Hamilton ★★★½

Amazing performance from Douglas, can't believe no one thought Liberace was gay...
Review by Torstein1981 ★★★½

Great performances by Damon and Douglas. And a very interesting story about a life I didn't know anything about.
Review by Aurora ★★★

I found this quite disappointing. It was a classic celebrity hanger-on tell-all, where each embarrassing or hypocritical detail of the celebrity's life is on display, while the bland hero is nothing but a betrayed saint.

It's solid story, engagingly decorated, but I don't trust the narrator and I don't feel like the movie did enough to acknowledge that. Why do we need so many vivid details about Liberace's sex life or his plastic surgery? It feels mean, and it doesn't feel like we're getting to the heart of what made this person the way he was.