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Anthony Hopkins, Nicole Kidman, Ed Harris, Gary Sinise, Wentworth Miller ... see more see more... , Jacinda Barrett , Harry J. Lennix , Clark Gregg , Anna Deavere Smith , Lizan Mitchell , Kerry Washington , Phyllis Newman , Margo Martindale , Ron Canada , Mili Avital , Danny Blanco-Hall , Kristen Blevins , Anne Dudek , Mimi Kuzyk , John Finn , John Cenatiempo , Deano Clavet , Peter "Sugarfoot" Cunningham , Allison Pratt Davis , Laurent Imbault , Richard Mawe , Jeff Perry , Tom Rack , Danny Stone , Vlasta Vrana , Russell Yuen , Terry Haig , Philip Pretten , Rick Snyder , Brea Asher , Charles W. Gray , Richard Russo , Robert Higden , Luc Morisette , Pierre Yves Leblanc , Neville Edwards , Jude Beny , Jimmy Chang , Vito DeFilippo , Sylvain Dore , Kim Gandol Ferenczi , Andrew Forge , Phillip Collete Gervais , Steven Grise , Edward Lafferty , Sylvain Landry , Nwamiko Madden , Frank Proctor , Bill Rowat , Jessica Shutle , Kate Whitney , Lydia Zadel , Stella Arroyave

For his first film since 1998's Twilight, acclaimed director Robert Benton helmed this tense drama written by Fatal Attraction co-scribe Nicholas Meyer and based on the novel of the same name by Phili... read more read more...p Roth. Set in the late '90s at the height of the Clinton sex-scandal, The Human Stain stars Anthony Hopkins as Coleman Silk, a respected professor at a New England college who suddenly finds his life unraveling after a comment he makes about some African-American students is misinterpreted as a racial slur. As the scandal heats up, Nathan Zuckerman (Gary Sinise), a writer researching a biography of Silk, begins to dig deeper and deeper into Silk's life. Eventually, matters are made worse when an affair with a young married janitor named Faunia Farley (Nicole Kidman) is exposed. But amid the controversy, Silk must struggle to keep his greatest secret, a secret he's held for the majority of his life, from becoming public. Ed Harris, who previously worked with Benton in 1984's Places in the Heart, also stars. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

Flixster Users

49% liked it

14,985 ratings

Critics

43% liked it

148 critics

R, 1 hr. 46 min.

Directed by: Robert Benton

Release Date: October 21, 2003

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DVD Release Date: July 20, 2004

Stats: 759 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (759)

  • matertenebraum
    February 3, 2009
    matertenebraum
    This movie is based around the life of a classics professor (Coleman), who is currently living in a small New England town. He has harboured a dark secret for 50 years which slowly starts coming out and causes his life to unravel painfully. When he loses his job after being wrong... read morefully charged of racism, his wife dies leaving this man who is near retirement, with nothing. He embarks on an affair with a young cleaning lady from the college which quickly turns into a relationship as they reveal intimate secrets to each other and finally find the release and trust they've each been searching for. I quite enjoyed this movie ? there was some excellent acting from some top actors, and the sense of intrigue and suspense was maintained throughout. The characters were well-written and the complexities which lingered within their personalities original yet believable. There were moments where I held my breath waiting for the tension to subside and others where I found myself wishing that everything could work out nicely for the people in this story, and remove the arguments and misunderstandings which threatened to ruin what good things they had. It is a truly great movie which can inspire this level of emotion in its audience. The main downside was the fact that it did not seem to flow very well between flashback sequences and the present. Of course I could clearly make out which scenes were of a younger Coleman and memories of the past, however at times failed to recognise their significance at that particular point. It may have been a better idea to insert several shorter flashback clips instead of the lengthy scenes used so that the connection with the present was not lost. There were also sections where the story lagged slightly and I questioned the need for these scenes. In some parts the use of visual without dialogue was extremely effective, but in other parts I felt that the scenes existed solely for the sake of art. In particular, scenes such as the lingering shot of Coleman cradling his wife as she died, froze time and really made me feel the incredible and very sudden loss he suffered. But in comparison, a sequence where the professor's young lady is dancing erotically for him seemed clumsily done as I felt it existed purely for the sake of displaying a sex scene. It did not have the effect of deepening our understanding of the emotions the two main characters felt, which I think it should have done. I was amazed at the end when the terrible secret was revealed through the investigations of a writer who the professor had befriended. To me it would seem wrong to live such a deception your entire life but the movie helped me to understand the character's motives and how he felt that he had no other choice. I was left feeling saddened that someone would have to deny their heritage to such an extent in order to achieve their goals. While it takes a bit of patience to get through the movie (which could have been 20mins shorter), I would highly recommend this movie to anyone. With any luck the more people who watch this movie, the more open-minded society will become and hopefully this type of prejudice will disappear.
  • lewiskendell
    November 17, 2008
    lewiskendell
    I'm becoming a huge fan of Nicole Kidman. She's obviously a stunning woman, but fortunately she's also an excellent actress. She disappears into her roles and The Human Stain is the best display of her talents that I've seen so far. Kidman and the rest of the cast give perfect pe... read morerformances that augment a very interesting plot.

    The Human Stain is essentially the story of two people's pasts and the events that still deeply affect their emotions and psyches. It takes a while before the entirety of the story is revealed, but if you're anything like me then you'll find yourself completely fascinated with each of the main characters by the end.

    There are one or two scenes that come of as less than aunthentic, but these littlle missteps help to keep the story humming along, so I can't complain too much. I highly recommend The Human Stain, it's very well put together and even managed a few unexpected twists and turns.
  • ceWEBrity
    February 27, 2008
    ceWEBrity
    Decently-written, well-acted movie killed by its lack of focus. It's a testament to Nicole Kidman and Anthony Hopkins' abilities that they manage to create two compelling characters in this mess of a movie, but what's the point here? What is the movie trying to say? That racism i... read mores bad? That we're rabid in our attempts to be politically correct? That love overcomes age? That Hopkins can somehow make a passable black man? (nigga please) The Human Stain finds a whole bunch of themes in succession, discards them, and moves on to something new with unenthusiastic nods to the old ones every once in a while. Filmmaking for the ADD intellectual.

    And what was with that dance scene? Actually, there's a bizarre amount of dance scenes in this movie, so...what was with those four dance scenes?
  • Gx7
    November 23, 2007
    Gx7
    I just watched this again. A story of secrets and how it becomes the human stain. I always wanted to buy the book but then one day I came across the vcd on a store and decided to buy it instead. (yeah yeah Im a cheapskate! vcd! it was on sale :p)

    Intriguing tidbit from
    ... read moreref="http://www.flixster.com/user/dauntfreesparro18">dauntfreesparro18:

    "Wentworth Miller (to prepare for the role of Anthony Hopkins' younger self) watched every movie w/Anthony in it. And Anthony Hopkins watched Wentworth's home movies and even had makeup put a mole on the left side of his face, just like Wentworth has."
  • 76Majikat
    September 20, 2007
    76Majikat
    Quite a strange one to rate as the good bits were really good, but other parts were a little boring.

    I loved Nicole Kidman in this, she was unrecognisable playing a completely different role than normal and did it very well, certainly my favourite role of her's to date.

    VER... read moreDICT: Certainly a watchable, enjoyable film
  • jjnxn
    April 7, 2007
    jjnxn
    drones on and on, kidman is awful
  • dreamfaeries
    November 7, 2006
    dreamfaeries
    Great film.
  • mrbungle7821
    February 27, 2006
    mrbungle7821
    [center][font=Arial][color=darkred][img]http://img160.imageshack.us/img160/2937/photo092sm.jpg[/img][/color][/font][/center]

    [font=Arial][color=darkred]Anthony Hopkins as a black man? Nicole Kidman as a white trash janitor? And the two are LOVERS? This is a movie that is sunk by... read more some lamebrain casting decisions. It's one of those art pices that yearns to be something more but just gasps for air. Still, I suppose you get to see that one girl from [i]The Real World London[/i] naked.[/color][/font]

    [font=Arial][color=darkred]Nate's Grade: C[/color][/font]
  • danieljparsons
    September 13, 2008
    danieljparsons
    Anopther deleted Flixster review. Fuckers!!! Oh, the film? It's ok (though the twist is unfortunately just a wee bit risible).
  • robfearon
    March 3, 2010
    robfearon
    Spectacularly miscast. The only thing this movie had going for it was an excellent musical score.

View All The Human Stain Reviews

Critic Reviews

David Edelstein
November 3, 2003
David Edelstein, Slate

One of those films that makes you say, 'That was powerful. Now what the hell was it about?' Full Review

Richard Roeper
November 3, 2003
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper

... solid but not great. Full Review

Bill Muller
November 1, 2003
Bill Muller, Arizona Republic

It is hard to buy what The Human Stain is peddling.

Charles Taylor
November 1, 2003
Charles Taylor, Salon.com

The Human Stain takes a complex work of literary art and reduces it to tasteful melodrama. Full Review

Desson Thomson
October 31, 2003
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

Works wonderfully as an actor's movie. The trouble is, that's the only way it works.

Stephen Hunter
October 31, 2003
Stephen Hunter, Washington Post

The problem is that neither Kidman nor Hopkins seems to know what movie they are in.

Geoff Pevere
October 31, 2003
Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star

The stain of seriousness spreads over everything in this movie, eventually blocking out everything but the effort. Full Review

Mick LaSalle
October 31, 2003
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

Falls victim to a fatal lack of narrative drive, suspense and drama. Full Review

Joe Baltake
October 31, 2003
Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee

The acting here is terrific, which is no surprise, as Benton is a great director of actors. And this is a true ensemble, with no one person outshining anyone else. Full Review

Jay Boyar
October 31, 2003
Jay Boyar, Orlando Sentinel

When Kidman's on screen, the film catches fire. Otherwise, it remains unignited. Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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The Human Stain Trivia

  • which actress made mouling rouge, bewitched, days of thunder, human stain and the others  Answer »
  • True or False Wentworth Miller played a younger Anthony Hopkins in the Movie 'The Human Stain'?  Answer »
  • In the movie, The Human Stain, Anthony Hopkins plays the main character, Coleman Silk. Which of the following actors plays ther younger version of Coleman Silk?  Answer »
  • Several times Sir Anthony Hopkins has played Hannibal Lecter. Which one film does not involve that character?  Answer »
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