Review of Human Nature

Introduction

Another of those films that completely passed me by, and probably passed you by too. It premiered at Cannes in 2001, but never seemed to get a cinema release here, coming straight to DVD instead.

It piqued my interest for one reason - Charlie Kaufman the writer of Being John Malkovich and Adaptation. The film was directed by Michel Gondry, one time drummer, and director of Björk music videos.

The cast list is impressive for a low budget film from a largely unknown French director, featuring Patricia Arquette, Rhys Ifans, Tim Robbins and Robert Forster (Max Cherry from Jackie Brown). The story is outlined up above for you, and remember this is Charlie Kaufman so expect weirdness.

Video

We are treated to a 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer, which is good, but not as good as you might expect given its tender age. There`s a bit of print damage from time to time, and the odd other little flaw. Colours are pretty good overall, and there are several distinct pallettes, from the green of the forest, to the white of the lab and the Christmas lights in Gabrielle`s apartment.

The film uses CGI mice (!) which look good if a little obvious, and there`s also quite a bit of back projection, some of which looks very dodgy indeed!

Audio

A DD5.1 soundtrack, which like the picture is good, but not as good as you might expect. There are some good sound effects and atmospherics when we are out in the forest, and even some in the lab, but for most of the time it`s just lots of dialogue.

The score is quite varied, and features some original compositions from writer Charlie Kaufman, performed by Patricia Arquette.

Features

This is one of those rare occasions when region 2 can boast. We get extras on our disc, region 1 don`t. Once you`ve recovered from that shock, I`ll tell you about them.

First up a commentary track, usually my favourite extra. This one features director Michel Gondry who is joined by Rhys Ifans. Gondry is French and so speaks with a thick accent, Ifans is Welsh and his own accent is also quite thick. But this bizarre pairing works really well, and the commentary is interesting and informative, and often far funnier than the film!

Next we have a "featurette" which is just the usual 5 minute PR fluff, featuring a few interview clips mixed with footage.

And finally there are 10 teaser trailers, all of which are bad enough to put off any potential viewers.

Conclusion

Being John Malkovich was an excellent film, Human Nature is not, despite the best efforts of some of the cast. Tim Robbins is just Tim Robbins, Arquette and Ifans both make a good fist of it, but Miranda Otto as Gabrielle is probably the only one who manages to make bits of the film work.

It`s kind of funny at times (ignoring the wildly obvious jokes and anatomical gags), but it only really provokes the odd grin. There`s a "break in to song" moment too which really annoyed me (enough to switch to the commentary track instead until the song finished). It`s sort of wild and wacky, but never wild and wacky enough to make you think it was good and be able to relax and enjoy it.

Disc wise we`ve come up trumps for once, with respectable picture and sound and more extras than anyone else. It`s just a shame that the film itself didn`t come up trumps.

One for curious Kaufman fans only, and rent first to avoid making a costly mistake. Another sow`s ear from silk purse ingredients.