The Human Stain

Play trailer

The Human Stain

R,

2003,

1h 46m,

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

40%

146 Reviews

Tomatometer

48%

10,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

40%

Tomatometer

146 Reviews

48%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Coleman Silk (Anthony Hopkins) is a worldly and admired professor who loses his job after unwittingly making a racial slur. To clear his name, Silk writes a book about the events with his friend and colleague Nathan Zuckerman (Gary Sinise), who in the process discovers a dark secret Silk has hidden his whole life. All the while, Silk engages in an affair with Faunia Farley (Nicole Kidman), a younger woman whose tormented past threatens to unravel the layers of deception Silk has constructed.

Critics Consensus

Though the acting is fine, the leads are miscast, and the story is less powerful on screen than on the page.

Read Critics Reviews

Neil Norman

London Evening Standard

Jan 10, 2018

An honourable enough failure, but a failure nonetheless.

Go to Full Review

Sheila Johnston

London Evening Standard

Jan 10, 2018

It is a decent, intelligent film that yet somehow fails to excite.

Go to Full Review

Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Dec 28, 2010

3/5

Flawed adaptation of Roth's novel isn't for kids.

Go to Full Review

Debbie Lynn Elias

Behind The Lens

Nov 13, 2019

Despite it's shortcomings and mis-castings, it still makes a powerful statement about our times.

Go to Full Review

PJ Nabarro

Patrick Nabarro

Nov 18, 2018

2/5

The Human Stain bears all the scars and stretch marks of a work that has tried to condense the necessarily literary elements of an esteemed novel into a feature film format.

Go to Full Review

Ken Hanke

Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Sep 18, 2013

3.5/5

So finely tooled that it feels like it ought to be bound in Morocco leather and placed on a display case in a department store for a last minute Christmas gift.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Robert Benton

Director

Anthony Hopkins

Coleman Silk

Nicole Kidman

Faunia Farley

Ed Harris

Lester Farley

Gary Sinise

Nathan Zuckerman

Wentworth Miller

Young Coleman Silk

The Million Dollar Hotel

26%

67%

The Million Dollar Hotel

Watchlist

Hamlet

59%

46%

Hamlet

Watchlist

Mean Machine

33%

72%

Mean Machine

Watchlist

Death to Smoochy

41%

66%

Death to Smoochy

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Death to Smoochy

Gigli

7%

13%

Gigli

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Gigli

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

Coleman Silk (Anthony Hopkins) is a worldly and admired professor who loses his job after unwittingly making a racial slur. To clear his name, Silk writes a book about the events with his friend and colleague Nathan Zuckerman (Gary Sinise), who in the process discovers a dark secret Silk has hidden his whole life. All the while, Silk engages in an affair with Faunia Farley (Nicole Kidman), a younger woman whose tormented past threatens to unravel the layers of deception Silk has constructed.

Director: Robert Benton
Producer: Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi, Scott Steindorff
Screenwriter: Nicholas Meyer, Philip Roth
Distributor: Miramax Films
Production Co: E1 Entertainment, Miramax Films, Stone Village Productions, Lakeshore Entertainment
Rating: R (Nudity|Language|Sexuality)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 31, 2003, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 8, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $5.4M
Runtime: 1h 46m
Sound Mix: Surround

Join The Newsletter

Join The Newsletter

Cookie Settings