Human Nature

“When in doubt, don't ever do what you really want to do.” That's the advice Nathan (Tim Robbins) was given by his father at a young age. Now, as an adult, Nathan works as a psychologist trying to prove that with enough electric shocks, mice can be taught table manners. His life is changed when he discovers and domesticates a primitive man raised as an ape (Rhys Ifans of Notting Hill) and falls in love with a naturalist (Patricia Arquette) whose entire body is covered with hair. If this all sounds rather quirky, that's because Human Nature is based on a script by Being John Malkovich scribe Charlie Kaufman and directed by Michel Gondry, the man behind some of Björk's loopiest music videos. Like Kaufman's earlier script, Human Nature takes an absurd premise and applies it to philosophical questions of human identity, particularly those related to the repression of our most basic instincts in order to maintain a civilized society. However, unlike Being John Malkovich, here Kaufman runs out of ideas early on and the characters are left spinning their wheels in a dull murder mystery. Released on DVD only, this is optional, at best. (D. Fienberg)