Behind the Candelabra 2013

In 1977, 18-year-old Scott Thorson, Matt Damon, an animal trainer working on a movie set, crosses paths with Bob Black, Scott Bakula, a Hollywood producer, in a Los Angeles gay bar. At Black’s urging, Scott leaves his foster home and the care of Joe and Rose, and begins a search for better-paying work. Joe and Rose are portrayed by Garrett M. Brown and Jane Morris, and their quiet, stable world is quickly upended by the glamorous pull of fame and fortune.

Black takes Scott to Las Vegas where they witness a live Liberace performance, and then to the backstage dressing room of the legendary pianist, who immediately takes a shine to the young newcomer. Liberace, played by Michael Douglas, invites them to his lavish home, and Scott—drawing on his veterinary background—tends to a sick dog and begins to serve as Liberace’s “assistant” at the pianist’s request. The arrangement deepens rapidly: Scott moves in, becomes Liberace’s lover, and even joins the act, chauffeuring him to the stage in a Rolls-Royce as part of the show’s spectacle.

Behind the scenes, tensions simmer. Billy Leatherwood, Cheyenne Jackson, a fellow performer, is cut from the act and departs after a sizable payout. As Scott and Liberace’s bond grows, Scott reveals a bisexual streak, explaining that he is also drawn to women. Liberace, portrayed with a complex mix of warmth and control, shares stories of a “divine healing” and a near-death experience that he says reinforced God’s love for him, a narrative crafted to shield their relationship from public scrutiny.

Yet cracks begin to appear. A looming sense of manipulation colors Liberace’s grand gestures: he consults his long-time manager, Seymour Heller, Dan Aykroyd, who guards the entertainer’s carefully curated image and suppresses the truth of Lee’s (Liberace’s) sexuality. A truth-seeking dynamic emerges as Carlucci, Liberace’s live-in helper, Bruce Ramsey, warns of an eventual break, while Dr. Jack Startz, Rob Lowe, a plastic surgeon, is enlisted to keep the illusion of youth intact. Liberace even experiments with a plan to adopt Scott, a notion that would have been unthinkable in that era.

As the years pass, Liberace’s obsession deepens: he undergoes a dramatic facelift to appear younger, and he begins pressuring Scott to resemble him more closely. The relationship strains under the weight of fame, wealth, isolation, and addiction. Scott spirals into drug use, feeling increasingly controlled and used, while Liberace’s public persona remains a carefully guarded mask.

Tragedy strikes with Liberace’s mother’s death in 1980, an event that Scott notes with a sense of dissonance as Liberace’s grief feels pointedly selective. In 1981, the couple’s rift widens—Scott’s drug use escalates and Liberace’s sexual indiscretions with younger men intensify, pulling them further apart. The tension peaks when Liberace courts other relationships, and Scott is drawn into a cycle of withdrawal and anger that culminates in his eviction by Seymour and security, who urge him to sever ties.

A formal palimony suit follows in 1984, with Scott seeking more than $100 million in property rights. Liberace denies a sexual relationship and any gifts beyond a few rings and cars, and his lawyer secures a settlement drawn tightly around silence and financial compensation. The case reveals the couple’s story to the public only in fragments, with Scott’s testimony detailing their five-year romance while Liberace denies it.

The years advance toward a bitter denouement. A trip to a bookstore reveals a personal photograph book about Liberace’s life, while headlines turn toward Rock Hudson’s AIDS-related death, signaling a broader social reckoning. Christmas 1986 finds Scott visiting a frail Liberace in Palm Springs; Liberace, now gravely ill with AIDS, thanks him for coming and hands him a final gold ring as a reminder, pleading that Scott never expose his private life to the world. He asks Scott to remember him not just as a flamboyant showman, but as a man who faced his truth.

Liberace dies on February 4, 1987, a death that public scrutiny soon confirms as AIDS-related. At the Los Angeles funeral, Scott wrestles with memory and mortality, imagining one last stage moment in which Liberace performs before being carried to heaven by a stage harness. The film closes on the weight of a life spent navigating love, fame, secrecy, and the enduring question of what it means to be true to oneself in a world that prizes appearances above all.