SEX, SOPHISTICATION, SELL BIOPIC 'KINSEY'.

Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Critic

DURING THE FIRST 20 years of his career, Alfred Kinsey became the world's leading authority on the gall wasp, a nonstinging insect about the size of an ant. Understandably, few took notice of his work.

``I always knew gall wasps were going to make people beat a path to my door,'' Kinsey, soulfully played by Liam Neeson, says in Bill Condon's multifaceted biopic.

Such self-awareness didn't always translate to other areas of his life, but in a way, the film tells us, insects did pave the way to Kinsey's most famous area of expertise - human sexuality. ``Life's variations,'' Kinsey muses about insects, but he could have been talking about people, too. ``To see them, all you have to do is open your eyes.''

``Kinsey'' is indeed an eye-opening look at a man who believed that society should not interfere with the birds and the bees, with what he believed should be normal human biological development. That kind of clinical world view, Condon shows, could get Kinsey in some trouble, particularly when one of his leading disciples and researchers, Clyde Martin (Peter Sarsgaard), begins a sexual relationship with Kinsey's wife, Clara (Laura Linney). But then, Martin and Kinsey were already lovers themselves, so it was only a matter of adding a few more complications to a growing pile.

Whatever you might think about Kinsey's research methods and findings, ``Kinsey'' succeeds marvelously in its depiction of how his pioneering work sent shock waves into 1950s America. Condon also makes sure you get the point that despite today's sexual saturation in advertising and entertainment, little has changed in terms of Americans' attitudes toward sex. We're still more than a little confused in both attitude and tolerance.

The movie is saturated in sex. Kinsey didn't mince words, and Condon, who wrote and directed the feature, has decided to follow suit with a verbal and visual frankness that is unusual in a medium that usually likes to titillate without saying a lot. And yet Condon's ultimate aim isn't to shock (although, that's certainly a motivation at times) but to deliver a warm, sophisticated and often funny portrait of an unconventional man who believed that everyone is unique, rendering the word ``normal'' irrelevant.

Glenn Whipp, [phone]

glenn.whipp(at)dailynews.com

KINSEY - Three stars

(R: pervasive sexual content, including some graphic images and descriptions)

Starring: Liam Neeson, Laura Linney, Peter Sarsgaard.

Director: Bill Condon.

Running time: 1 hr. 58 min.

Playing: Landmark's NuWilshire in Santa Monica; AMC Century 14 in Century City; Laemmle's Sunset 5 in West Hollywood.

In a nutshell: Frank biopic of the sex researcher who didn't believe there was such a thing as ``normal.''

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Liam Neeson portrays pioneering sex researcher Alfred Kinsey, who shook up America with his studies, in ``Kinsey.''