Customer Reviews

Human Nature [VHS]

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

There is a point to what happens in "Human Nature," but the key things to remember are that (a) the point will never be made explicitly and (b) the point is up to the beholder. So if you need your points clearly and sharply made, then this film written by Charlie Kaufman is gong to befuddle you as much as anything he has ever written. Since that includes "Being John Malkovich," "Adaptation," "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind," and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," that would be a lot of befuddlement.

This film begins with the revelation that Nathan Bronfman (Tim Robbins) is dead, courtesy of a small round bullet hole in his forehead, and somewhere in the afterlife in a room where everything is white. In prison is Lila Jute (Patricia Arquette), and testifying before some Congressional committee is a nattily dressed but strangely bearded man named Puff (Rhys Ifans). Apparently there are issues about being "sorry" that this film will explain, but first we have to get up to speed on how this strange collection of characters came to be strange.

When Lila was 12 years old her hormones caused hair to grow all over her body. Tired of being "Queen Kong" in a side show she goes off into the wild, writes a best selling book with a disparaging view of humanity, and, tired of shaving all over all the time, uses the money to have electrolysis to try and remove her hair. Louise (Rosie Perez), who is doing the electrolysis, thinks she knows a guy who would be perfect for Lila. This would be Nathan.

Nathan is a scientist. As a boy he was taught the importance of table manners by his mother (Mary Kay Place) and father (Robert Forster). Failure to use the right fork for eating his salad meant the young boy was sent to his room without supper. So it is not surprising that today he is busy teaching a pair of white mice table manners. As he explains to Lila, if he can teach table manners to white mice, then he can teach table manners to human beings, which would result in ushering in a golden age of good manners and civility. Helping him in his lab work is the apparently smitten Gabrielle (Miranda Otto), who has decided the best way to come on to Nathan is to use a fake French accent. Despite never having learned the correct film to use from either the wild or the dinner scene in "Titanic," Lila and Nathan begin to go out together. The key to understanding Nathan is to know his simple mantra: "Remember, when in doubt, you should never do what you truly want to do."

One day Lila and Nathan are out in the wood and they come up the feral creature that they bring back to civilization to study. Gabrielle gets the honor of naming the creature and picks "Puff." Nathan goes is not only to teach him about the silverware in a formal dinner setting but all other aspects of high culture. He also wants to stop Puff from humping slide projections of sexy women, and in all of these endeavors uses the same shock aversion therapy that has worked so well with the two white mice (who do the best scene stealing by mice since the original "Babe"). But while Nathan is turning Puff from the Naked Ape into a sophisticated, debonair, man about town, he is torn between Gabrielle and Lila. As for Puff, he would pretty much like to have whoever is left.

I would say that there are competing love triangles in "Human Nature" except that I am pretty sure Lila is the only one capable of love rather than lust. But, of course, what these characters do is not as important as why they do it. The problem is that since the characters do not seem to know why they are doing what they are doing, that makes it a bit difficult for us. Nathan is always a step behind and Gabrielle goes whichever way the wind is blowing. Lila is the most honest of the bunch, which means she is doomed, and Puff is caught in all of the middles of the circumstances developed in the film. Puff also gets most of the good lines, from pointing out at the start that being raised by a man who thinks he is an ape is pretty much the same as actually being raised by apes to his recognition of a stage that exists before a beloved teacher takes a student from crayons to perfume.

I missed this film when it was first released but checked it out because I discovered after watching "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" that there was a movie scripted by Charlie Kaufman that I had missed. Certainly "Human Nature" is the least of the films that I have mentioned here, but it is still indicative of the creative quirkiness that has made Kaufman's reputation. I like films that make me think, even if I am not sure I am necessarily thinking what the film intends for me to be thinking in the end. What I do know in this case is that the joke in "Human Nature" is on human beings, but then that usually is the case when you bring nature into the equation.

While Hollywood continues to pump out uninteresting, action packed, technologically expensive fodder....movies that do nothing for you but leave you lighter in the pocketbook.........there comes along a group of directors who challenge the way you view films and think about them. Michel Gondry is one of them. He is a very creative director with tons of music videos to his credit. He has done music videos for artists such as Radiohead, Bjork, and Cibo Matto. If you've ever seen any of his work, you will know what I am referring to. He does not come up short with this film. If you enjoy watching films that entertain the mind, this film is a must see. I have been waiting a long time to see Human Nature and it was well worth the wait. This is instantly one of my favorite films. Rent it or buy it when you have the chance. --Other films that I recommend: 1. One Hour Photo by Mark Romanek -2. CQ by Roman Coppola -3. Sexy Beast by Jonathan Glazer -4. The Virgin Suicides by Sophia Coppola - & 5. Donnie Darko by Richard Kelly

I rented this movie recently betting that the many talented individuals involved would deliver an unusual and thought provoking movie. I was not disappointed. I think "Human Nature" is worth seeing. The movie follows the characters through a complex maze of human desire and repulsion, ultimately delivering an ending which is although not idyllic, truthful nonetheless.

without belaboring the plot, i'll simply say that human nature is a delightful film that really gets the rusty wheels turning in the run-down factory that my mom likes to call "holly's brain." rhys ifans, patricia arquette and tim robbins are a dynamic trio, and miranda otto's character, gabrielle, inspired me to finally read "sophie's choice" (excellent book, i might add). kaufman has a true gift for investigating the nuances of consciousness in a way that is both thought-provoking yet amusing. naturally, the midas touch of michel gondry earns this movie a place in any movie fan's list of bests.

Men raised as apes. Mannered mice. Women with bad body hair days. Don't expect anything halfway normal in the ironically-titled "Human Nature," the first collaboration between the brilliant Michel Gondry and even more brilliant Charlie Kaufman. Forget style above substance -- this is a thinking man's comedy, quirky and utterly hilarious.

It opens with a dead man, a convicted woman, and a genteel simian-man all speaking of their pasts: Lila (Patricia Arquette) became horribly hirsute when she was a teen -- by twenty, she was "Queen Kong" in a sideshow. Miserable, she retreated to the woods and became a reknowned nature writer. During electrolysis treatment some years later, a nurse offers to set her up with a desperate guy: Nathan Bronfman (Tim Robbins), a manners-obsessed scientist who is teaching them to white mice.

One day in the woods, Lila and Nathan come across a feral young man they call Puff (Rhys Ifans) -- as explained early on, Puff's father thought he was an ape, and raised his son accordingly. Now Puff is being taught the ways of humanity, as Lila tries to preserve the more primitive things about human beings -- and a warped love triangle results.

Michel Gondry and Charlie Kaufman recently collaborated on the wonderful, poignant "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," so it's not surprising that their first joint film was also excellent. It's the sort of film that can't be easily pegged as one thing or another -- part comedy, part satire, part blinking question mark. Is it human nature to be naked and free, to be civilized and uptight, or does it lie somewhere in the middle? Are we just animals in clothes, or do humans have something more... or less? "Human Nature" doesn't answer all these questions, but it does make you think about them.

Michel Gondry's quirky style -- he directed some of Bjork's best music videos -- suits this equally quirky movie. He keeps the movie jumping quickly from scene to scene, moving fast enough that you never get bored. And he seems like a kind of directorial minimalist (the afterlife is a white room with a white table and white mist). At other times, he takes slapstick to new heights, lightening up the cerebral tone of the comedy.

The surreal flashbacks and oddball comedy (like Ifans wearing a shock collar) give "Human Nature" cinematic style. But the characters are what really fill up the screen -- Arquette does an excellent job as the tormented Lila, particularly during a beautiful musical number in the woods. Rhys Ifans is even better, whether it's as an uncivilized ape-man, or as an eloquent, rather dapper ape-man.

Dorky scientists, civilized simians and hairy women sound like an idiotic basis for a movie, but Kaufman and Gondry transform it into a smart, strange comedy. Definitely not to be missed.

Not The Beast, but a comedy on outcomes of lust and copulating at the beginning of the third millennium, where sex rules.

Almost as strikingly original as Kaufmann's other screenplays ("Being John Malkovich" and "Adaptation,") what this film lacks is a director of Spike Jonze's mastery to bring it to the screen. Michel Gondry while competent is not quite there yet, which results in a number of awkward, slow scenes and dead spots along the way---especially at the end, which turned embarassingly cornball until the last 10 seconds.

Tim Robbins, Patricia Arquette, and the yummy Miranda Otto all put in solid performances but again you get the feeling that all three would be capable of far better under a more talented director. Robbins especially seems to be phoning his part in; he isn't asked for much, and delivers it.

The main saving grace of this film is its acerbic social commentary and gloriously jaded, anarchistic ideas regarding its title: "human nature" as well as the "nurture" (i.e. social programming) which largely mass-produces it. The last second twist-ending is a nice cherry on top.

While certainly funny and entertaining especially during the first half, this is a movie I'd only rent, not buy.

Written by Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich), this film about a love rectangle is as quirky and insightful as one would hope. With Patricia Arquette as a circus freak/nature writer, Tim Robbins as a researcher scarred by his childhood, Rhys Ifans as a young man raised as an ape, and Miranda Otto as a French lab assistant with a secret, this is a well-acted well-paced oddity that nevertheless makes consistently interesting observations about human nature. If you enjoyed other films written by Kaufman, you will most likely enjoy this film, which is a bit quirkier but less bizarre than Malkovich.

DVD extras are: a trailer -- that's it! The film can be heard in English or French with optional English subtitles. Another worthwhile movie from the mind of Kaufman.

Males outwardly act to build a "civilization" based on repressing urges, secretly yearn to return to nature, yet ultimately do whatever it takes to bag some tail. Best line: "As you say in the vernacular, I want me some of that."

Females fight against nature tooth-and-nail (think cosmetics industry), and ultimately "sell their soul" to land a relationship (and the requisite baby).

Sounds pretty cynical, yet accurate, doesn't it? I don't think the human species, or any species at that, has ever made it far without a healthy prioritization of sex. What this movie does, however, is attempt to peel back the veneer we have painted upon ourselves.

I had this movie on my "to watch" list, but forgot why it was there. Shortly into it, I got weirded-out by the imagery and matter-of-fact treatment of some pretty ludicrous scenes. I thought, "Is this a joke?" I stuck with it and only during the end credits did I realize it was Michel Gondry and Spike Jonze flick, and a Charlie Kaufmann Freudian-tinged script.

I'm sure there's much to this movie that I am missing (What is the meaning of the scientist's new little brother? Where exactly is the white room?). I'm purposely writing this review before reading any other reviews or analysis at all, so I can't pretend that I figured out all the metaphor and simile on my own. Maybe the movie demands a second viewing? Or maybe, like good art, the movie is only a conduit by which we find the answers within ourselves. That sounded good, huh?

-a little verbal masturbation from a not-yet-evolved ape

I have to admit, I had really high hopes for this movie. Made by Charlie Kaufman and Michel Gondry, the same writer/director team that worked together on one of my favorite movies ('Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'), and featuring Rhys Ifans and Miranda Otto, who were so good together in another favorite of mine ('Danny Deckchair'), I figured I had good reason to get excited about this. While I was not completely disappointed, it should be said that 'Human Nature' was something of a letdown for me.

At least it's original. 'Human Nature' is the story of four people who come together through some pretty unique circumstances. Tim Robbins is a scientist trying to teach table manners to mice, as the result of an interesting set of neuroses. Patricia Arquette, cursed since puberty with out-of-control body hair, plays Robbins' girlfriend and eventual assistant. Rhys Ifans is the scruffy man who was raised as an ape in the wild. And rounding out the list is Miranda Otto, the cute French lab assistant who has bigger dreams and naughtier intentions. Nobody in the film, of course, is quite what they seem or what they wish to be, and as the story progresses they all interact in different (often surprising!) ways. At the very least, the story will keep your attention to see what happens next.

Hilary Duff fans, take note...she appears for maybe 30 seconds in 'Human Nature' as a young (teenage) Patricia Arquette, when she first discovers her hair growth. It was a surprising appearance if you're not expecting it (I wasn't), but nothing to get excited about if you're a fan.

'Human Nature' has its funny moments, and its sad moments, and many that are an odd mixture of both. As Robbins and Arquette first find the man-ape Ifans, their ideas of his situation are completely opposite: Robbins wants to re-train the apeman to be a refined and dignified gentleman, while Arquette wants to let him explore his freedom. Otto's French lab assistant's motives aren't ever really clear, except for the idea that she's mostly looking out for herself. The thematic question becomes obvious: which is the 'true' nature of humanity? Is humanity defined by it's ability to rise above the base animal instinct and be civilized, or is it preferable to free the beast within us and live as we wish? The film provides no ready answer to this, but does give you the chance to explore the ideas of it.

There's nothing specific I found disappointing about the movie, just a general feeling that at some point it got so strange that it lost me. Was it Patricia Arquette's oddly-placed nude (well, sort of) singing scene? Was it Miranda Otto's questionable French heritage? Rhys Ifans getting shocked over and over for his natural reaction to seeing a naked woman? Probably, it was the overall effect of all of these things, and others like them. Taken all together, I never felt like the movie found its direction. It's not so much that it lost me...just that it never really found me in the first place.

I like some pretty oddball movies sometimes, but 'Human Nature' might be just a little over the line even for me. It's funny, it's got some good performances, and it's definitely an original. My overall impression in the end, though, is that it's just... strange.

Perhaps that's the point.