The Human Stain

Coleman Silk is a respected classics professor at a small New England college whose life unravels after a remark he makes in class is taken as a racial slur. Rather than defend himself, he resigns in anger and turns to Nathan Zuckerman, a writer he asks to tell his story. As the two men build a friendship, Coleman begins an affair with Faunia Farley, a much younger woman who works as a cleaner, and her troubled history, including a violent ex-husband, threatens the careful distance he has kept from his own past.

The film is an adaptation of Philip Roth's novel. Robert Benton directed it, the eighth of the nine features listed for him, following Twilight and preceding Feast of Love. Nicholas Meyer wrote the screenplay. Anthony Hopkins plays Coleman, Nicole Kidman plays Faunia, Ed Harris plays Lester Farley, Gary Sinise plays Nathan Zuckerman, and Wentworth Miller appears as the young Coleman. Fifty-two cast members are credited.

Released in October 2003, the production cost about 30 million USD and returned roughly 25 million USD worldwide. On IMDb it holds 6.2 out of 10 from around 34,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 6 out of 10 from a much smaller pool of about 519 votes. A critics' rating of 5.7 out of 10 from 152 reviews places it slightly below the IMDb audience figure.