The Human Stain

Reviewed by Pam Singleton

for Reel Movie Critic

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Cast

Anthony Hopkins Coleman Silk

Nicole Kidman Faunia Farely

Gary Sinise Nathan Zuckerman

Ed Harris Lester Farely

Directed by Robert Benton. Drama. Rated R for language and sexuality/nudity. Miramax. Running time: 106 minutes

Powerful performances drive this complex story, as it deals with the semantics of language, the illusion of race, and our passions in life as we pass from age to age. "The Human Stain," adapted from the Philip Roth novel, is directed by Robert Benton (Oscars for "Kramer vs. Kramer" and "Places in the Heart").

What strikes you first are the voices, seductive and drawing you in. Anthony Hopkins, sure, he can read my favorite recipe aloud any day. But Nicole Kidman brings a weary huskiness of tone to her role as Faunia Farely that is surprising. And Gary Sinise's narration, as Nathan Zuckerman, is as open and straightforward as his conversations with Coleman Silk (Anthony Hopkins).

Coleman Silk is a man with a deliberate plan for his life, borne of circumstance and desire. After living and teaching in Europe, he is now the first Jewish professor of the classics, and Chair of his department at New England's small (and now prestigious, thanks to him) Athena College. The ironic use of a phrase during a lecture results in serious charges being leveled against Coleman. In the aftermath he finds himself enmeshed in two life-changing relationships. First is a lusty sexual affair with Faunia, a much younger janitorial worker at the college, and the development of a revealing and sensitive friendship with Zuckerman, a writer experiencing a creative block, who is hiding out in a lakeside cabin.

The sadly beautiful Faunia is definitely among the walking wounded. Her psychotic ex-husband Lester (Ed Harris) is a Vietnam vet, who suffers with all the attendant syndromes and, we learn, she has lost two young children in a tragedy. Harris captures Lester's predatory nature, urged on by jealousy. There is a restraining order against him approaching Faunia or her home, yet he intrudes on her privacy one night to torment her and goad Silk into a confrontation.

Nathan Zuckerman is Coleman's confidante, with the exception of one essential truth. Coleman tells Nathan that Faunia is "not the great love of my life, but she is certainly the last." Gary Sinise, as Nathan, the chronicler of Silk's journey, offers a non-prejudiced picture of Coleman, the voyager. In a memorable scene Coleman offers Nathan a gift of the sheer joy of creative expression. This leads to Zuckerman's ultimately writing the story of Coleman's life, "The Human Stain."

Criticism has been leveled at the selection of Anthony Hopkins to portray Coleman Silk…the accent for one. To me he illustrates the complete immersion of this man as someone else. This may not have been the intention of Benton, who says, "I was moved by Anthony's humanity and his tremendous intelligence more than anything else," but it works for me.

The story unfolds through carefully orchestrated recollections, so well developed and integral we hesitate to call them flashbacks. They disclose what led the young Coleman, portrayed with equal amounts of zeal and naivete by Wentworth Miller, to choose the path he has, one of denial of self. Though I'm sure he would disagree with that. The issue of identity is not one that raises many eyebrows anymore - it's more likely to spark lively debate - but it was critical at the time Coleman graduated from high school and was headed for college.