The Human Stain (film)

Last updated
The Human Stain
HumanStainPoster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Robert Benton
Screenplay by Nicholas Meyer
Based on The Human Stain
by Philip Roth
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography Jean-Yves Escoffier
Edited by Christopher Tellefsen
Music by Rachel Portman
Production
company
Distributed by Miramax Films
Release dates
  • August 29, 2003 (2003-08-29)(Venice)
  • October 29, 2003 (2003-10-29)(France)
  • October 31, 2003 (2003-10-31)(United States)
  • December 18, 2003 (2003-12-18)(Germany)
Running time
106 minutes
Countries
  • United States
  • Germany
[1]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$30 million
Box office$24.9 million

The Human Stain is a 2003 American drama film directed by Robert Benton. Its screenplay, by Nicholas Meyer, is based on the novel of the same name by Philip Roth. The film stars Anthony Hopkins, Nicole Kidman, Gary Sinise, and Ed Harris.

Contents

Plot

In the late 1990s, writer Nathan Zuckerman (Gary Sinise) has settled in a lakeside New England cabin following his second divorce and a battle with prostate cancer. His quiet life is interrupted by Coleman Silk (Anthony Hopkins), a former dean and professor of classics at local Athena College, who was forced to resign after being accused of making a racist remark in class. Coleman's wife died suddenly following the scandal, and he wants to avenge his loss of career and companion by writing a book about the events with Nathan's assistance.

The project is placed on the back burner when Coleman has an affair with Faunia Farley (Nicole Kidman), a considerably younger, semi-literate woman who supports herself by working menial jobs, including at the college. Their relationship is threatened by the faculty members who forced Coleman from his job and by Faunia's ex-husband Lester (Ed Harris), a mentally unbalanced Vietnam War veteran who blames her for the deaths of their children in an accident. Flashbacks of Coleman's life reveal to the audience his secret: he is an African-American who has "passed" as a white Jewish man for most of his adult life.

Cast

Release

The film debuted at the Venice Film Festival. It was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival, the Bergen International Film Festival, and the Hollywood Film Festival before its theatrical release in the US.

Box office

The film grossed $5,381,908 in the US and $19,481,896 in foreign markets for a total worldwide box office of $24,863,304 against a budget of $30 million. [2]

Critical response

The Human Stain received mixed reviews. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 42% of 155 professional critics gave the film a positive review, with a rating average of 5.48/10. The site's consensus reads, "Though the acting is fine, the leads are miscast, and the story is less powerful on screen than on the page." [3]

In his review in The New York Times , A.O. Scott called it "an honorable B+ term paper of a movie: sober, scrupulous and earnestly respectful of its literary source ... The filmmakers explicate Mr. Roth's themes with admirable clarity and care and observe his characters with delicate fondness, but they cannot hope to approximate the brilliance and rapacity of his voice, which holds all the novel's disparate elements together. Without the active intervention of Mr. Roth's intelligence ... the story fails to cohere ... At its best – which also tends to be at its quietest – The Human Stain allows you both to care about its characters and to think about the larger issues that their lives represent. Its deepest flaw is an inability to link those moments of empathy and insight into a continuous drama, to suggest that the characters' lives keep going when they are not on screen." [4]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times observed, "We have to suspend disbelief over the casting, but that's easier since we can believe the stories of these people. Not many movies probe into matters of identity or adaptation. Most movie characters are like Greek gods and comic book heroes: We learn their roles and powers at the beginning of the story, and they never change. Here are complex, troubled, flawed people, brave enough to breathe deeply and take one more risk with their lives." [5]

In the San Francisco Chronicle , Mick LaSalle called it "a mediocre movie ... [that] falls victim to a fatal lack of narrative drive, suspense and drama. Kidman and Hopkins are wrong for their roles, and that, combined with a pervading inevitability, cuts the film off from any sustained vitality. The result is something admirable but lifeless." [6]

David Stratton of Variety described it as "an intelligent adaptation of Philip Roth's arguably unfilmable novel powered by two eye-catching performances ... A key problem Benton is unable to avoid is that Hopkins and Miller don't look (or talk) the least bit like one another. Miller, who gives a strong, muted performance, convinces as a light-skinned African-American in a way Hopkins never does, which is not to suggest that the Welsh-born actor doesn't give another intelligent, powerful portrayal. It's just that the believability gap looms large." [7]

In Rolling Stone , Peter Travers said, "Hopkins and Kidman ... are both as mesmerizing as they are miscast ... The Human Stain is heavy going. It's the flashes of dramatic lightning that make it a trip worth taking." [8]

The Times of London called it "sapping and unbelievable melodrama ... an unforgivably turgid lecture about political correctness." [9]

Awards and nominations

Music

The soundtrack to The Human Stain was released September 23, 2003.

No.TitleArtistLength
1."Opening Credits" Rachel Portman 3:11
2."Iris Dies/Library Coleman Waits for Faunia"Rachel Portman2:29
3."It's in the Mail/End Credits"Rachel Portman7:03
4."The Two Urns/Father Dies"Rachel Portman2:31
5."Navy Recruiting"Rachel Portman1:01
6."Steena Rejects Coleman"Rachel Portman1:28
7."Audobon Society/The Crow"Rachel Portman2:35
8."Coleman's Funeral/Faunia Dances"Rachel Portman1:14
9."The Accident"Rachel Portman2:46
10."You Think Like a Prisoner"Rachel Portman2:05
11."Frozen Lake"Rachel Portman1:36
12."It's in the Mail/End Credits (Rewrite)"Rachel Portman7:03
Total length:35:02 [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicole Kidman</span> American and Australian actress and producer (born 1967)

Nicole Mary Kidman is an American and Australian actress and producer. Known for her work in film and television productions across many genres, she has consistently ranked among the world's highest-paid actresses. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA, two Primetime Emmys, and six Golden Globes and the first Australian actor to receive the AFI Life Achievement Award honor.

<i>The Human Stain</i> 2000 novel by Philip Roth

The Human Stain is a novel by Philip Roth, published May 5, 2000. The book is set in Western Massachusetts in the late 1990s. Its narrator is 65-year-old author Nathan Zuckerman, who appears in several earlier Roth novels, including two books that form a loose trilogy with The Human Stain,American Pastoral (1997) and I Married a Communist (1998). Zuckerman acts largely as an observer as the complex story of the protagonist, Coleman Silk, a retired professor of classics, is slowly revealed.

Nathan Zuckerman is a fictional character created by the writer Philip Roth, who uses him as his protagonist and narrator, a type of alter ego, in many of his novels.

<i>Of Mice and Men</i> (1992 film) 1992 American movie by Gary Sinise

Of Mice and Men is a 1992 American period drama film based on John Steinbeck's 1937 novella of the same name. Directed and produced by Gary Sinise, the film features Sinise as George Milton, alongside John Malkovich as Lennie Small, with Casey Siemaszko as Curley, John Terry as Slim, Ray Walston as Candy, Joe Morton as Crooks, and Sherilyn Fenn as Curley's wife.

<i>The Peacemaker</i> (1997 film) 1997 American political action thriller film by Mimi Leder

The Peacemaker is a 1997 American political action thriller film starring George Clooney, Nicole Kidman, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Marcel Iureș and Aleksandr Baluev and directed by Mimi Leder. It is the first film by DreamWorks Pictures. While the story takes place all over the world, it was shot primarily in Slovakia with some sequences filmed in New York City and Philadelphia.

<i>Flirting</i> (film) 1991 Australian film

Flirting is a 1991 Australian coming-of-age comedy drama film written and directed by John Duigan. The story revolves around a romance between two teenagers, and it stars Noah Taylor, who appears again as Danny Embling, the protagonist of Duigan's 1987 film The Year My Voice Broke. It also stars Thandiwe Newton and Nicole Kidman.

<i>Ransom</i> (1996 film) 1996 film directed by Ron Howard

Ransom is a 1996 American action thriller film directed by Ron Howard from a screenplay by Richard Price and Alexander Ignon. The film stars Mel Gibson, Rene Russo, Gary Sinise, Delroy Lindo, Lili Taylor, Brawley Nolte, Liev Schreiber, Donnie Wahlberg and Evan Handler. Gibson was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. The film was the 5th highest-grossing film of 1996 in the United States. The original story came from a 1954 episode of The United States Steel Hour titled "Fearful Decision". In 1956, it was adapted by Cyril Hume and Richard Maibaum into the feature film, Ransom!, starring Glenn Ford, Donna Reed, and Leslie Nielsen.

<i>The Forgotten</i> (2004 film) 2004 American film

The Forgotten is a 2004 American science fiction psychological thriller film directed by Joseph Ruben and starring Julianne Moore, Dominic West, Gary Sinise, Alfre Woodard, Linus Roache, and Anthony Edwards. The film's plot revolves around a woman who lost her son in a plane crash 14 months earlier, only to wake up one morning and be told that she never had a son. All of her memories are intact, but with no physical evidence that contradicts the claims of her husband and her psychiatrist, and she sets out in search for solid evidence of her son's existence.

<i>The Others</i> (2001 film) 2001 film by Alejandro Amenábar

The Others is a 2001 gothic supernatural psychological horror film written, directed and scored by Alejandro Amenábar, starring Nicole Kidman, Fionnula Flanagan, Christopher Eccleston, Elaine Cassidy, Eric Sykes, Alakina Mann and James Bentley. Set in 1945 Jersey, it focuses on a woman and her two young photosensitive children who experience supernatural phenomena in their large manor after the arrival of new servants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wentworth Miller</span> British-born American actor and screenwriter

Wentworth Earl Miller III is an American-British actor and screenwriter. He rose to prominence following his starring role as Michael Scofield in the Fox series Prison Break, for which he received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama in 2005. He made his screenwriting debut with the 2013 thriller film Stoker. In 2014, he began playing Leonard Snart / Captain Cold in a recurring role on The CW series The Flash before becoming a series regular on the spin-off, Legends of Tomorrow.

<i>The Producers</i> (2005 film) 2005 film by Susan Stroman

The Producers is a 2005 American musical comedy film directed by Susan Stroman and written by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan based on the eponymous 2001 Broadway musical, which in turn was based on Brooks's 1967 film of the same name. The film stars an ensemble cast led by Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Uma Thurman, Will Ferrell, Gary Beach, Roger Bart, and Jon Lovitz. Creature effects were provided by Jim Henson's Creature Shop.

Getting Away with Murder is a 1996 American black comedy film directed and written by Harvey Miller.

<i>The Invasion</i> (film) 2007 American film by Oliver Hirschbiegel

The Invasion is a 2007 American science fiction horror film directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel, with additional scenes written by The Wachowskis and directed by James McTeigue, and starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig. The plot follows a psychiatrist (Kidman) in Washington, D.C. who finds those around her turning into emotionless beings shortly after a major Space Shuttle crash.

"How to Talk to Girls at Parties" is a science fiction short story written in 2006 by Neil Gaiman.

<i>Focus</i> (2001 film) 2001 American drama film by Neal Slavin

Focus is a 2001 American drama film starring William H. Macy, Laura Dern, David Paymer and Meat Loaf based on a 1945 novel by playwright Arthur Miller. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was given a limited release on October 19, 2001.

<i>Rabbit Hole</i> (2010 film) 2010 film directed by John Cameron Mitchell

Rabbit Hole is a 2010 American drama film directed by John Cameron Mitchell and written by David Lindsay-Abaire, based on his 2006 play of the same name. The film stars Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart as a grieving couple coping with the death of their four-year-old son. It also stars Dianne Wiest, Tammy Blanchard, Giancarlo Esposito, Jon Tenney, Sandra Oh and Miles Teller in his film debut.

<i>Stoker</i> (film) 2013 psychological thriller film by Park Chan-wook

Stoker is a 2013 psychological thriller film directed by Park Chan-wook, in his English-language debut, and written by Wentworth Miller. The film stars Mia Wasikowska, Matthew Goode, Nicole Kidman, Dermot Mulroney, and Jacki Weaver.

<i>Grace of Monaco</i> (film) 2014 film directed by Olivier Dahan

Grace of Monaco is a 2014 biographical drama film directed by Olivier Dahan and written by Arash Amel. The film stars Nicole Kidman in the title role as Grace of Monaco. It also features a supporting cast of Frank Langella, Parker Posey, Derek Jacobi, Paz Vega, Roger Ashton-Griffiths, Milo Ventimiglia, and Tim Roth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicole Kidman on screen and stage</span>

Throughout her career spanning over nearly four decades, American-born Australian actress and producer Nicole Kidman has appeared in numerous film and television projects, as well as in theatre productions. She made her film debut in the Australian drama Bush Christmas in 1983. Four years later, she starred in the television miniseries Bangkok Hilton, for which she received the AACTA Award for Best Lead Actress in a Television Drama. Her breakthrough role was as a married woman trapped on a yacht with a murderer in the 1989 thriller Dead Calm. She followed this with her Hollywood debut opposite Tom Cruise in Tony Scott's auto-racing film Days of Thunder (1990). Her role as a homicidal weather forecaster in Gus Van Sant's crime comedy-drama To Die For garnered Kidman a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical in 1996. She worked with Cruise again on Ron Howard's Far and Away (1992) and Stanley Kubrick's erotic thriller Eyes Wide Shut in 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stanley Kubrick filmography</span>

Stanley Kubrick (1928–1999) directed thirteen feature films and three short documentaries over the course of his career. His work as a director, spanning diverse genres, is widely regarded as extremely influential.

References

  1. "The Human Stain". bfi. Archived from the original on January 30, 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  2. The Human Stain Box Office Mojo
  3. "The Human Stain", Rotten Tomatoes
  4. A.O. Scott (31 October 2003). "Movie Review - FILM REVIEW; Secrets of the Skin, And of the Heart". The New York Times .
  5. Ebert, Roger. "The Human Stain Movie Review & Film Summary (2003) - Roger Ebert".
  6. "'Human Stain' doesn't quite wash / Philip Roth adaptation a nice effort but ultimately unbelievable". 31 October 2003.
  7. Stratton, David (3 September 2003). "Review: 'The Human Stain'".
  8. "Movie Review". Rolling Stone .[ dead link ]
  9. "The Times & The Sunday Times".
  10. The Human Stain Soundtrack AllMusic. Retrieved February 19, 2014