The title of this movie is never really explained in this 2003 story of a noted college professor, Coleman Silk (at first Wentworth Miller and then as a senior citizen by Anthony Hopkins), falsely accused of racism because he used the word "spooks" to describe 2 students who had never attended his class. This character study also focuses on the multi-employed janitor-milkmaid- postal employee, Faunia Farley (Nicole Kidman) that he meets as a widower. Their love affair is scorned by many including a new friend of Coleman's, Nathan Zuckerman (Gary Sinise), who is twice divorced and living in a secluded cabin near a lake. Not only is she too young for Coleman, but also she is a threat to Coleman's survival because of her previous marriage to Les Farley (Ed Harris), a psychotic Vietnam veteran. The movie poses many questions. Why are we attracted to the people that we are attracted to? Why do we have shame about what has happened to us in life? And finally, why can we not be honest and still respected? With haunting music throughout, this movie will make you think about our own secrets that we hide from others and why we do it. But in the end, the movie left me a little dissatisfied with its conclusion. This movie won no awards in spite of its great cast. In fact, some critics say that the lead actors were miscast. I do not agree with that. Anthony Hopkins, Nicole Kidman, Ed Harris, Wentworth Miller, and Gary Sinise are all superb in their roles, but they are playing parts that you would not expect. As I said before, this movie leaves you with a lot to think about.Read full review
I did not read the novel so I am not comparing the movie to the book. Standing alone, the movie is average at best. The performances of the main characters are convincing enough, but the subject matter is basically a bore. The only viewers I can imagine actually finding the subject matter interesting are blacks who have pretended to be white.... Or the odd older man, still holding out hope for a woman half his age to show up and titillate him. I couldn't care less to see a movie about a girl obsessed with her childhood abuse. Purely for the dysfunctional set..... And why must Hollywood throw in a gratuitious male/male dance? Why? Because they like to mix things up, just on general principles. Frankly, I wish I had spent my money on something else.... Like "Meet Joe Black"! Oh - wait - I did! Now THERE'S a movie worth seeing!! Anthony Hopkins' role there justifies its existence!Read full review
I did not like this movie. I am a reader and great fan of Phillip Roth novels, and this movie was adapted from his novel of the same name. The novel goes into great depth about the background of the characters, so that you understand the emotional dilemma. The movie leaves you not understanding anything about the chartacters, other than their sexual desperation, which is the least important part of their personalities. The main character has a fascinating upbringing as an enlightened Negro family. The movie doesn't go into depth about this at all , so I was disappointed. Please read the book; it delves deep into lives of a light skinned black American family and how each family member copes with life. The book teaches us about this racial aspect of growing up in New Jersey, and the movie does not touch that subject.Read full review
I chose to buy this movie because Wentworth Miller is hot and I wanted to see what kind of an actor he is outside of Prison Break. The title had an interesting sound to it, I see why you can't judge a book by it's cover in this case a dvd case by it's cover. In my opinion the story was too disconnected, Nicole Kidman needs to give up acting forever, she is horrible in this kind of story, it was a complete disapointment, except for Wentworth Miller and Gary Sinise this movie was a bust. The music was so so... One should relize that you can't be born black and American and then change to white and British. Ed Harris had a character that was pointless and I didn't like the way he picked on the old man for being sexually active, this is a good thing at his age. Erin & Lisa Reed Wentworth is the best,and he looks great in this movie, YAHOOOOOOOO!!!!!!Read full review
The Human Stain movie is one of the most important films that I have viewed in a long time. It is the story of a mixed race family where one son (played by Anthony Hopkins) looks like a white person and then pretends all his life to be Jewish. Looking at him, anyone could think just that without any second thoughts. He leaves his family (some of whom clearly look black) and marries and becomes a literature professor while keeping that secret his whole life! I highly recommend this film as it contains timely nuances about life and living in the United States during a time when racism ruled every aspect of life and living. To add another star for this film - it is based on a true story . . .
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