The Human Stain
2.5/4
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Nicole Kidman, Wentworth Miller, Gary Sinise, Ed Harris
Rated R for Language and Sexuality/Nudity
Last night, I reviewed "Teeth," which was a horror/comedy (that wasn't scary or funny) that had an interesting premise and no follow through. "The Human Stain" is almost the opposite. There's a great idea here, just as there was in "Teeth," but while there's a lot of interesting stuff going on, it doesn't serve any point. "The Human Stain" is a waste of good acting and good story.
Coleman Silk (Hopkins) is a respected professor at a small college in New England. After he calls two students who didn't show up for class "spooks" he is called before a committee for making a racist remark. But only Coleman is able to appreciate the irony of this due to a secret that he has kept for fifty years: he is black.
"The Human Stain" does not suffer from a lack of compelling material. There's forbidden love, there's buried secrets (and from a different perspective), a lunatic breathing down the hero's neck, just to name a few. But they're stirred together in a somewhat incoherent batch that serves no purpose. None of these storylines have anything interesting to say about Coleman or the decision he made 50 years ago. Frankly, they don't say anything at all.
At least the acting is good. Anthony Hopkins is a little miscast, but not to the extent that he was in "Hitchcock" (and there wasn't any horrifically bad makeup...apart from what I assume is the usual touch up, he has a mole and green contact lenses to match Wentworth Miller). Hopkins doesn't look much Miller, but they're both good so while it matters to the plot, I didn't care. Nicole Kidman is excellent as the abused Faunia. Kidman hasn't been this good in a long time. Ed Harris and Gary Sinise provide solid support, but they're there mainly to serve the needs of the plot...whichever one it is at that time.
The film is well acted and well-directed. Robert Benton, who has made some famous movies before ("Kramer vs. Kramer," "Places in the Heart," "Nobody's Fool,"), stages the scenes well. But they're so loosely connected that I was wondering what the point of it all was.
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Nicole Kidman, Wentworth Miller, Gary Sinise, Ed Harris
Rated R for Language and Sexuality/Nudity
Last night, I reviewed "Teeth," which was a horror/comedy (that wasn't scary or funny) that had an interesting premise and no follow through. "The Human Stain" is almost the opposite. There's a great idea here, just as there was in "Teeth," but while there's a lot of interesting stuff going on, it doesn't serve any point. "The Human Stain" is a waste of good acting and good story.
Coleman Silk (Hopkins) is a respected professor at a small college in New England. After he calls two students who didn't show up for class "spooks" he is called before a committee for making a racist remark. But only Coleman is able to appreciate the irony of this due to a secret that he has kept for fifty years: he is black.
"The Human Stain" does not suffer from a lack of compelling material. There's forbidden love, there's buried secrets (and from a different perspective), a lunatic breathing down the hero's neck, just to name a few. But they're stirred together in a somewhat incoherent batch that serves no purpose. None of these storylines have anything interesting to say about Coleman or the decision he made 50 years ago. Frankly, they don't say anything at all.
At least the acting is good. Anthony Hopkins is a little miscast, but not to the extent that he was in "Hitchcock" (and there wasn't any horrifically bad makeup...apart from what I assume is the usual touch up, he has a mole and green contact lenses to match Wentworth Miller). Hopkins doesn't look much Miller, but they're both good so while it matters to the plot, I didn't care. Nicole Kidman is excellent as the abused Faunia. Kidman hasn't been this good in a long time. Ed Harris and Gary Sinise provide solid support, but they're there mainly to serve the needs of the plot...whichever one it is at that time.
The film is well acted and well-directed. Robert Benton, who has made some famous movies before ("Kramer vs. Kramer," "Places in the Heart," "Nobody's Fool,"), stages the scenes well. But they're so loosely connected that I was wondering what the point of it all was.
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