Behind the candelabra is a 2013 biographical drama film set during the 70s, about the

tempestuous 6 years relationship between Liberace and his much younger lover Scott Thorson.
Liberace is a very successful pianist of that time and Scott Thorson is a very young man who has
been tossed from foster home to foster home and works with animals. In a gay bar he meets Bob
Black who takes him to a Liberace concert in Las Vegas and insists on meeting him afterwards.
During their first scene together there seems to be already a lot of chemistry between the two, an
exchange of glances, all whilst showing the looks of disapproval of Liberace’s current paramour
and performing partner Billy Leatherwood.
Liberace invites Bob and Scott to his mansion; the showman and the young man start a
conversation, where Scott finds out Liberace’s older dog, his favourite,is sick; he says he can cure
him, gets back home in Wisconsin, and calls him to tell him he found the right medicine an that he
would send it to him the following day; Liberace says he doesn’t want Baby Boy (his dog) to wait,
and that he will fly Scott to Las Vegas the same evening. The two spend the night together.
Liberace soon gets rid of Billy and starts dating Scott. The relationship between them at first seems
to be mainly for sexual purposes, but then they open up to each other, about their private and
past life, and also about their sexual orientation, the struggle of being gay, and bisexual in Scott’s
case, during those years; Liberace says he wishes he liked women, because he was tired of lying to
the public.
The two get closer an closer, their affair continues, all goes swimmingly until Liberace sees himself
on a TV show and sees how aged he has become. He engages plastic surgeon Dr. Jack Startz to
perform a youthful face lift and at the same time convinces Scott to undergo plastic surgery to
make him look like a portrait of his younger self. And here begins the downfall: Dr. Startz
prescribes weight loss pills and pain meds to Scott who becomes addicted and moves into heavier
drugs; his behaviour shifts, he starts to find everything suffocating, he wants to go out and have
fun, the pianist is too busy working and also can’t go out with him to keep their relationship
secret, since people are still convinced he is straight and still looking for the right woman; but still,
he wouldn't let him go out by himself. Liberace begins visiting pornographic peep shows and
suggests that they each see other people, Thorson becomes upset and starts a lawsuit against him
to seek his financial share of the property; as a result Liberace ends their formal partnership and
starts dating his younger assistant.
The lawsuit starts but Liberace denies everything Thorson says, including their sexual relationship.
Scott has nothing to legally prove he is lying and is forced to move somewhere else.
Couple years later, Liberace calls Scott telling him he is very sick with what is later revealed to be
AIDS, inviting him to his house to have one last conversation where they confess to each other
they truly were in love.
Liberace dies few months later and Scott attends his funeral in which he imagines seeing Liberace
performing for the last time.