|
|
Article: 'Stain' comes out in a wash; Film of 'The Human Stain' loses the voice of novelist Philip Roth.(FEATURES)(ARTS)
- Article from:
- The Christian Science Monitor
- Article date:
- October 31, 2003
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 The Christian Science Publishing Society. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Byline: David Sterritt Film critic of The Christian Science Monitor
It's true, Nicole Kidman can do anything. Casting this glamorous star as the illiterate cleaning woman of "The Human Stain," based on Philip Roth's novel, sounded like one of Hollywood's worst ideas in ages.
But then, who would have expected her to score so marvelously as Virginia Woolf in "The Hours" last year? I can't say she's an ideal choice for Robert Benton's new film, but she is always credible, and she tunes her performance perfectly to the movie's overall tone.
Looking beyond Kidman, that overall tone is the movie's main problem. While it's hard to summarize the story ...