The Human Stain Critic Reviews

Benton has laid bare a great author's creaky plotting only to deliver a melodrama with bookish pretensions. Read the full review

Most movie characters are like Greek gods and comic book heroes: We learn their roles and powers at the beginning of the story, and they never change. Here are complex, troubled, flawed people, brave enough to breathe deeply and take one more risk with their lives.Read the full review

The Human Stain is, contradictorily, drained of color by the spotlight turned on its charismatic leads. Between the labors of simplifying the story for the screen and accommodating the stardust of world-class actors, an essentially, uniquely American tragic hero and heroine are bleached of real American tragedy.Read the full review

Etched in acid, stoked by wrath, it is one of those big-ideas novels that fits perfectly in human hands, where it can be savored over time or wrestled with page by page. But big ideas don't always size down for movie screens. Read the full review

The film's two big flaws are readily apparent: a clunky screenplay and the miscasting of the lead character.Read the full review

The Human Stain is heavy going. It's the flashes of dramatic lightning that make it a trip worth taking. Read the full review

Falls victim to a fatal lack of narrative drive, suspense and drama. Kidman and Hopkins are wrong for their roles, and that, combined with a pervading inevitability, cuts the film off from any sustained vitality. The result is something admirable but lifeless.Read the full review

The movie coalesces into nothing: It's one of those films that makes you say, "That was powerful. Now what the hell was it about?" Read the full review

The thriller aspects of the story and the overall solid level of acting -- including a sexy performance from a red-hot Nicole Kidman -- keep the audience interested but never fully emotionally involved. Read the full review