Coleman Silk has a secret. A terrible fifty-year-old secret that
the esteemed college professor has kept hidden from everyone –
including his wife, his children and his down-and-out young lover
– and it’s about to ruin his entire life.
CRITIQUE
“Are they real, or are they spooks?” This one simple question,
asked facetiously in Coleman Silk’s European Literature class,
lands him in front of a university tribunal, accused of racism. It
is here that Coleman asks a question that is central to the film.
“I’ve never laid eyes on them,” he says, “how could I know they
were black?” This is interesting because, as only Coleman knows
(though perhaps he has forgotten), people have been looking at him
for years without realizing that he is African-American himself.
So we have to ask ourselves how we define race and how race
defines us.
We have seen
this subject matter covered before in Imitation of Life and
William Faulkner’s “Light In August,” but in The Human Stain
the problem is broader than merely race; these characters are bound by
their secrets. Coleman has based his life around a lie, one that he
cannot reveal. In flashbacks we see why Coleman made the decision to
switch. It opens doors for him. An accomplished boxer, he has a shot
at an athletic scholarship. “Just don’t tell him you’re colored,” his
coach tells him. Coleman is in the unique position to choose the race
by which the world perceives him, and switching makes life easier for
Coleman than it was for his father, an intelligent man working as a
porter on a train, called “boy” by the white passengers, who literally
drops dead serving a train full of white people.
The film is
well structured. Flashbacks show Young Coleman at the beginning of his
assimilation, working his way into white society while still running
into people who know the truth about him. When Coleman takes his
girlfriend Steena to East Orange to meet his mother, her appearance
outs Coleman instantly and the relationship ends. With that, Coleman
knows he has to cut his ties and start over. That is what he does,
treating his mother with cold disregard when she tries to talk some
sense into him.
The other
performances are equally excellent, especially Ed Harris, the abusive
ex-husband of Nicole Kidman’s character. He gives the character a
deadpan menace. The cast is great all around, and the direction
assured.
THE VIDEO
On the DVD it says that The Human Stain is presented in the
original 1.85:1 aspect ratio, but when playing the picture it looks
more like 2.35:1. The presentation is anamorphic, enhanced for
16x9 television sets. Regardless, the transfer is pristine, with no
flaws, and the colors have been translated superbly.
THE AUDIO
This film is presented in Dolby
5.1 Surround Sound. The presentation is clear, with all ambient
sounds coming through sharply and a good, wide dispersal
throughout.
THE EXTRAS
The bonus material on this film
woefully lacking in substance. There is no theatrical trailer,
and there is no director’s commentary, which might have been
interesting. What is here is mediocre at best:
Behind-the-Scenes Special:
a short piece with the actors, producer and director talking about
their roles in bringing the film to life. This never gets beyond the
typical behind-the-scenes stuff.
Jean-Yves
Escoffier Tribute:
The Human Stain was the last film for the French cinematographer,
who passed away from heart failure in 2003. His career began in France
in the early 1970’s, and he was the director of photography on such
films as Good Will Hunting, Harmony Korine’s Gummo,
Rounders, and many others. (Check out the Internet Movie Database
for a complete resume.) Of course, none of that is mentioned in this
“tribute,” which is nothing more than a short montage of clips showing
Escoffier on the set and clips of his movies, all set to the score
from The Human Stain.
The
bonus material here is pretty run-of-the-mill, and adds very little to
our overall knowledge of the movie.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The Human Stain
is a superbly made film with great performances by all involved. This
fact outweighs the deficiency of the bonus material, but the special
features are still enough to knock this DVD down a notch.
