Bobby Harwell, David Warshofsky, Hilary Duff

Lila, a young woman with a severe hormonal condition, is forced to hide her malady and eventually leave society for the solitude she finds in nature. While in the forest she writes novels that become ...( read more  read more... )wildly successful. Once famous, she returns to society and starts looking for a man. With the help of her success and her therapist Louise, she starts dating Nathan, a repressed scientist who teaches table manners to mice. One day Lila and Nathan are hiking in the woods and discover Puff, a feral man who had been raised in the woods as an ape by his mentally ill father. Nathan decides to take Puff to his lab and, using the methods he developed with mice, transforms Puff into an example of elegance and education. Everything seems too good to be true except for the small problem that as soon as Puff gets a taste of freedom, he rushes out to visit prostitutes. While Puff is struggling with his sexual urges, Nathan discovers Lila's condition and falls in love with his French assistant Gabrielle.

Flixster Users

64% liked it

2,978 ratings

Critics

49% liked it

94 critics

R, 1 hr. 36 min.

Directed by: Michel Gondry

Release Date: April 12, 2002

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DVD Release Date: December 10, 2002

Stats: 588 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (588)


  • July 4, 2008
    A more than interesting debut by director Michel Gondry. A satire about, well, human nature. A joke on humanity. A spoof on love and sex (mostly sex) and a comedy about our deepest insticts and the best (and worst) ways to supress them.

    Visually, it's not as engaging as ...( read more)other Gondry movies and the screenplay isn't as "dreamy" and oniric as other Kaufman works but the extraordinary performances and the wicked sense of humour create a completely unique and mesmerizing film that, funny enough, it's not as "weird" as its synopsis may suggest.

    Miranda Otto's character is a dream.
  • April 3, 2008
    Gondry and Kauffman together seems like a winning combination, but this wasn't as good as I had hoped it would be.

    I've heard people say this would've been better as a twenty minute short, and I completely agree. Not because I wasn't entertained for the 90 or so minutes, but jus...( read more)t because it seemed like they ran out of ideas and had to stretch it out a bit. At times I felt the film really lost focus, and just left the viewer confused on what they're supposed to make of everything.

    Some of this does manage to be completely hilarious, however. Rhys Ifans was great, as was just about the entire cast.

    This could have been much better, and it really didn't seem completely polished. Really came off as a mess. That being said, however, it was one hell of an entertaining mess. It kept me interested for the full runtime, which at times is all you can really ask for in a film.
  • February 19, 2008
    Michel Gondry and Charlie Kaufman's first film together must be a masterpiece since they did do Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind... right? Well it showed promise about the classic we were going to get after this film. However this is just an example how even the most brillia...( read more)nt writer can f*ck up. Interesting concept, good acting but overall a mess of a movie.
  • January 23, 2008
    Pretty good film, another Kaufman reflection of the loss of innocence, and very funny.
  • November 4, 2007
    Quirky movie that investigates human nature through a tale of three characters whose lives are connected through an "ape" theme: a man raised an ape, an ape-women, and an ape behavioural scientist.
  • November 2, 2009
    Charlie Kaufman and Michel Gondry equals perfection.
  • October 31, 2009
    i don't know what's wrong with all the critics out there. this is a one harshly underrated movie. This first Gondry-Kauffman collaboration is just as good as...other Gondry-Kauffman collaboration. even more,it has one great philosophical discussion that can arise after watching t...( read more)his.and Eowyn herself, Miranda Otto is sexy as hell in this too
  • October 29, 2009
    A little haphazard in it's message, but this seems to have been a directed approach more than a mistake or sign of inexperience. Weird, but it's a bit of fun.
  • October 17, 2009
    interresting early stuff from Gondry
  • September 19, 2009
    ANYONE WHO OWNS THIS MOVIE....I have hundreds of DVD's and i am desperately wanting a copy of this. I would be willing to swap or burn a few movies for even a burnt copy of this one. Please message me xoxox

Critic Reviews


April 26, 2002
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

For all its highfalutin title and corkscrew narrative, the movie turns out to be not much more than a shaggy human tale. full review

April 12, 2002
Claudia Puig, USA Today

Has some hilariously bizarre moments along with a highly original premise. full review

April 12, 2002
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times

What lingers is Arquette and her wistful little squeak of a voice, imbuing Lila with a mournfulness that's quite touching. full review

April 12, 2002
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

A satisfying and original picture. full review

April 12, 2002
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

If it tried to do anything more, it would fail and perhaps explode, but at this level of manic whimsy, it is just about right. full review

April 12, 2002
A.O. Scott, The New York Times

Human Nature should have been more polished, and less tame. full review

March 28, 2002
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

The movie lacks the energizing force that Jonze, a producer on this film, gave Malkovich. full review

View more Human Nature reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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Human Nature Trivia


  • Hilary Duff plays a younger version of Patricia Arquette's character in what movie?  Answer »
  • This director is famous for driving actors crazy while doing multiple takes of a scene. His films feature perfect camera compositions. The dark side of human nature. Has made Sci Fi films, Comedies, War Films. His last film was made in 1999.  Answer »
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  • Name the movie: Screenplay by Charlie Kaufman, Directed by Michle Gondry, stars Tim Robbins, Patrica Arquette and Rhys Ifans.  Answer »

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