Human Nature (2001 film)

Human Nature
Company type	Film
Industry	Film industry
Founded	2001
Founder	Michel Gondry (director), Charlie Kaufman (writer)
Products	Comedy drama film
Parent	StudioCanal, Good Machine

Human Nature is a 2001 comedy drama feature penned by Charlie Kaufman and marks the directorial debut of Michel Gondry. The cast includes Tim Robbins, Patricia Arquette, Rhys Ifans, Miranda Otto, and Rosie Perez. The narrative centers on three individuals: a writer afflicted with hypertrichosis, a man raised as a chimpanzee, and a psychologist endeavoring to civilize the chimpanzee-man by suppressing his innate instincts.

The production team comprised Anthony Bregman, Ted Hope, Spike Jonze, and Kaufman, with funding provided by StudioCanal and Good Machine. Distribution was handled by Fine Line Features in the United States and BAC Films in France. Despite an $8.6 million budget, Human Nature earned roughly $1.6 million globally, falling short commercially and receiving predominantly mixed to negative critiques.

In 2001, the film was featured out of competition at the 54th edition of the Cannes Film Festival.

Plot

The story is recounted through the perspectives of three intertwined characters. Puff, a man who has been raised in the wild as a chimpanzee, delivers testimony before Congress. Writer Lila Jute provides a police statement following her arrest. Meanwhile, the late psychologist Nathan Bronfman addresses an unseen audience from beyond the grave. Their narratives unfold via flashbacks.

Lila, who suffers from a rare hormonal disorder resulting in excessive body hair, abandons society in her twenties after a brief period performing in a freak show to embrace life in the wilderness. She authors a bestselling book chronicling her joyous existence in nature. At age 30, motivated by intense sexual urges, she returns to civilization and removes her body hair in search of companionship.

During her return, she encounters Dr. Nathan Bronfman, a psychologist focused on training mice to observe table manners. While hiking, Lila discovers Puff—a naked man exhibiting ape-like behavior who has lived untamed in the forest his entire life. She pursues and corners him until he loses consciousness falling from a tree. At Nathan’s laboratory, Puff is named after Gabrielle’s childhood dog—Nathan's French assistant—though it is later revealed that Gabrielle is American and only pretends to speak with a French accent. With the assistance of Gabrielle and later Lila, Nathan attempts to inculcate Puff with refined manners and cultural knowledge; however, Puff struggles to suppress his primal sexual impulses.

Nathan embarks on tours with Puff to demonstrate his progress. Secretly, Puff indulges in heavy drinking and visits prostitutes. Concurrently, Nathan’s relationship with Lila deteriorates as he becomes entangled with the manipulative Gabrielle. Ultimately, Lila rescues Puff from this artificial conditioning by returning him to the forest to reclaim his natural state.

Lila and Puff live unclothed in the wilderness until Nathan confronts them and is subsequently killed by Puff. Following this event, Lila turns herself in for murder and requests that Puff testify about humanity’s shortcomings before briefly meeting his biological mother and retreating back into the woods.

After observers depart, Puff emerges from the forest once more and drives off with Gabrielle—who continues her feigned French persona—heading toward the city. This sequence implies an unexplained alliance that casts earlier events into ambiguity.

The film concludes with two philosophical excerpts during the end credits: one from William of Ockham’s Opera Theologica concerning intuitive cognition, and another from Francis Bacon’s Novum Organum addressing inductivism and the formulation of axioms through induction.

Cast

Patricia Arquette portrays Lila Jute, an author living with hypertrichosis.
- Hilary Duff appears as the younger version of Lila Jute
Tim Robbins plays Nathan Bronfman, a clinical psychologist.
- Chase MacKenzie Bebak depicts Nathan Bronfman in his youth
Rhys Ifans takes on the role of Puff, a man discovered in the wilderness behaving like a chimpanzee.
- Bobby Pyle portrays Puff during his younger years
Rosie Perez is cast as Louise, Lila’s friend and an expert in electrology.
Miranda Otto acts as Gabrielle, Nathan’s French-accented assistant.
Peter Dinklage appears as Dr. Frank Edelstein, a longtime acquaintance of Lila.
Mary Kay Place plays Mrs. Bronfman.
Robert Forster features as Mr. Bronfman.
Toby Huss portrays Puff’s father, who also adopted chimpanzee-like behavior after moving into the forest.
Ken Magee, Sy Richardson, and David Warshofsky appear as police detectives.
Bobby Harwell and Daryl Anderson take roles as congressmen.
Miguel Sandoval is cast as Wendell, a therapist.
Nancy Lenehan plays Puff’s mother.

Production

In late 1996, Steven Soderbergh was initially attached to direct Charlie Kaufman’s screenplay during Kaufman’s attempts to bring Being John Malkovich to fruition. Soderbergh imagined casting David Hyde Pierce for the role of Nathan Bronfman, Chris Kattan—likely inspired by his Saturday Night Live character Mr. Peepers—as Puff, and Marisa Tomei as Lila Jute. Although pre-production was nearly underway, Soderbergh exited the project after receiving an offer to direct Out of Sight.

Box office

Human Nature earned $705,308 domestically in the US and Canada and accumulated $869,352 from international markets, resulting in a worldwide total of approximately $1.6 million against its $8.6 million production cost.

Critical response

The film holds a 48% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 95 critiques with an average rating of 5.8/10, summarized as "quirky but forced and unengaging." On Metacritic, it has a score of 56 out of 100, reflecting "mixed or average" reviews.

Renowned critic Roger Ebert awarded the film three stars out of four, commending its "screwball charm" alongside director Gondry’s "mad whimsy." In his 2009 "Year of Flops" series, critic Nathan Rabin observed that although the collaboration between Kaufman and Gondry had the potential for sharp social satire, Human Nature leaned more toward abstraction than emotional resonance. Rabin praised the performances but described the movie as "profoundly flawed yet strangely affecting," delving into themes surrounding human behavior and existential dilemmas through an intellectual lens.

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