5.5
Viewer Rating
Combines user and critic ratings from four sources
The Human Stain (2003)
The Human Stain (2003)
Overview
Coleman Silk 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, 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, a younger woman whose tormented past threatens to unravel the layers of deception Silk has constructed.
Starring Cast
Where to watch
Rating & Dimensions
Bias Rating
Analyzing...
Leans Progressive
Political: Leans Left
Diversity: Moderate
Race Swap: Yes
Viewer Rating
5.5
Overview
Coleman Silk 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, 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, a younger woman whose tormented past threatens to unravel the layers of deception Silk has constructed.
Starring Cast
Where to watch
Detailed Bias Analysis
Analyzing...
Leans Progressive
Primary
The film is rated Left-Leaning due to its central exploration of racial identity, the profound personal cost of passing, and the societal pressures that necessitate such a deception, which aligns with progressive concerns about race and identity. While it critiques aspects of academic political correctness, this serves to deepen the tragedy of the protagonist's life defined by a racial secret.
The movie features a complex narrative centered on racial identity and societal prejudice, exploring the life of a Black man passing as white. While the casting of the lead role is traditional, the film's core story provides a strong and explicit critique of racial essentialism and the pressures of identity.
Secondary
Coleman Silk, a central character canonically established as a light-skinned Black man who passes as white in the source novel, is portrayed by a white actor (Anthony Hopkins) in the film adaptation. This constitutes a race swap.
The film "The Human Stain" does not feature any identifiable LGBTQ+ characters or themes. Its narrative primarily explores complex issues of racial identity, secrets, and societal judgment through its main protagonists, without engaging with queer experiences.
The Human Stain does not feature any identifiable transsexual characters or explore related themes. The narrative primarily focuses on racial identity, academic scandal, and a complex romantic relationship, rendering the topic of transsexual portrayal inapplicable to this film.
The movie does not contain any action or adventure elements.
The film "The Human Stain" is an adaptation of Philip Roth's novel. All major characters, including Coleman Silk, Faunia Farley, and Nathan Zuckerman, retain their established genders from the source material in the movie adaptation.
Viewer Rating Breakdown
User Ratings
6.2
6.0
Critic Ratings
4.1
5.7
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