The Human Stain (2003)

When a disgraced former college professor has a romance with a mysterious younger woman haunted by her dark twisted past, he is forced to confront a shocking secret about his own life that he has kept secret for 50 years.

Director:

Robert Benton

Writers:

Philip Roth (novel), Nicholas Meyer (screenplay)

Stars:

Anthony Hopkins, Nicole Kidman, Ed Harris

3 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anthony Hopkins	...	Coleman Silk
Nicole Kidman	...	Faunia Farley
Ed Harris	...	Lester Farley
Gary Sinise	...	Nathan Zuckerman
Wentworth Miller	...	Young Coleman Silk
Jacinda Barrett	...	Steena Paulsson
Harry Lennix	...	Mr. Silk
Clark Gregg	...	Nelson Primus
Anna Deavere Smith	...	Mrs. Silk
Lizan Mitchell	...	Ernestine
Kerry Washington	...	Ellie
Phyllis Newman	...	Iris Silk
Margo Martindale	...	Psychologist
Ron Canada	...	Herb Keble
Mili Avital	...	Young Iris

Storyline

The Human Stain is the story of Coleman Silk (Hopkins), a classics professor with a terrible secret that is about to shatter his life in a small New England town. When his affair with a young troubled janitor (Kidman) is uncovered, the secret Silk had harbored for over fifty years from his wife, his children and colleague, writer Nathan Zuckerman, fast explodes in a conflagration of devastating consequences. It is Zuckerman who stumbles upon Silk's secret and sets out to reconstruct the unknown biography of this eminent, upright man, esteemed as an educator for nearly all his life, and to understand how this ingeniously contrived life came unraveled.

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Plot Keywords:

professor | classics professor | janitor | college | writer | 

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Taglines:

How far would you go to escape the past?

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and sexuality/nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Miramax Official site

Country:

USA Germany France

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 October 2003 (France)

Also Known As:

Culpa Humana

Filming Locations:

Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$113,634 (Japan) (18 June 2004)

Gross:

$705,018 (Japan) (9 July 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miramax Films, Lakeshore Entertainment, Stone Village Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Wentworth Miller, the casting agent did not believe that he was part-African American like the character Coleman Silk. Miller also told the casting agent about an incident at Princeton University. While he was a student there, he published an editorial cartoon in the campus newspaper that was misconstrued as a racial slur against Professor Cornel West. Silk has a similar situation in the film. Miller faxed family pictures and articles about the controversy to prove his story. West later attended the film's premiere and made up with Miller.

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Goofs

During the breakfast scene after Faunia stays the night with Coleman, the bread she eats reappears on the table as it was before she ate it.

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Quotes

Young Coleman Silk: Dance For Me.

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Connections

Featured in Nicole Kidman: An American Cinematheque Tribute (2003)

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Soundtracks

"Honeysuckle Rose"
(1929)
Music by Fats Waller (as Thomas 'Fats' Waller)
Lyrics by Andy Razaf
Performed by Jess Stacy
Courtesy of Soundies Inc.
By Arrangement with De Pugh Music

User Reviews

I don't see whats so bad

There has been a lot of bad press about this movie, and, to a point, I don't understand why. Of course, I think that both Hopkins and Kidman were miscast in their respective roles, but at least Kidman trounced her miscasting and turned in a very strong, artistically nuanced performance.

This movie, to me anyways, seemed to be a bit theatrical. The camera shots are often distant, not allowing us to see the actors close up. The script is very loose, allowing for the actors to take the roles and make them their own. Also, most of the actors give very broad, exaggerated ( but not too much) performances. I consider this to be good. We live in an age when theatre is losing its popularity and the director of this film seems to have found a way to bring theatre into cinema.

There are some slight flaws in the movie. Hopkins speaks with a Weslh accent for no apparent reason. The ending is a tad bit drawn out, not terribly so.

Above all though, I consider this film to be a work of art. It certainly made me think about my own life; it's very powerful.