The Human Stain ('03) 2003, Rated R Miramax

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A Miramax release. Written by Nicholas Meyer; directed by Robert Benton; starring Anthony Hopkins, Nicole Kidman, Ed Harris and Gary Sinise.

The Human Stain is quite an accomplished film; never before have I seen a movie that fails on so many different levels all at the same time.

Adapted from author Phillips Roth’s novel of the same name, The Human Stain was commonly viewed as an impossible book to translate to the silver screen.  And upon seeing director Robert Benton’s final cut of The Human Stain, it quickly becomes obvious why.

The story itself is told non-chronologically—at one point in time in the movie there is a flashback within a flashback within a flashback—and though the theme at the core of the material progresses smoothly, the on-screen action providing this thematic content jumps around near randomly.

Anthony Hopkins stars in The Human Stain as Coleman Silk, a professor of literature at a small and prestigious New England college.  Silk is asked to resign when he unknowingly refers to two African-American students who have never put in an appearance to his class as “spooks”.  Silk is referencing their ghost-like ability to never be seen; no one else is of the same opinion.  The events then take on a surreal light when it is revealed (to the audience) that Silk himself is black.

The kind of film that is obviously geared for Oscar contention, it’s fairly easy to understand why talents such as Hopkins, Kidman, Ed Harris and Gary Sinise would want to be attached to this project; the plot is deeply layered and the characters are extremely flawed. 

From the standpoint of the audience though, it’s hard not to look at this material and see several examples of horrible miscasting, starting with the glamorous Nicole Kidman as a janitor and ultimately coming to a head with Hopkins. 

If Sir Anthony Hopkins, he of Welch descent and of the British knighthood, can be cast as a black man, what is next?

To its credit, The Human Stain is an extremely ambitious movie; there isn’t a hint of formula or stereotype anywhere.  But to what end?  The material is at times unbelievable and at others unbelievably bad.  Newcomer Wentworth Miller delivers a very solid performance as a young Coleman Silk, but even this couldn’t save Benton’s latest film.

chris neumer

yes, it's true: The best way to get blood, urine or vomit stains out of your clothes is to soak them in cold water.  Doing so breaks down the proteins in the stains and eliminates the spot.