Human Nature
Directed by	Michel Gondry
Produced by	Anthony Bregman, Ted Hope, Spike Jonze, Charlie Kaufman, StudioCanal/Good Machine
Written by	Charlie Kaufman
Starring	Patricia Arquette Rhys Ifans Tim Robbins Miranda Otto
Distributed by	Fine Line Features (USA), Pathé (UK)
Release date(s)	April 12, 2002
Running time	96 min.
Language	English
Budget	$6,000,000
IMDb profile

Human Nature is a 2001 comedy film, written by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Michel Gondry. It was Kaufman's second produced screenplay, following his debut with Being John Malkovich; the film stars Tim Robbins, Rhys Ifans, and Patricia Arquette. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 424 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (849 × 1200 pixel, file size: 145 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) This image is of a poster, and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the publisher or the creator of the work... Michel Gondry, 2005 Michel Gondry, born May 8, 1963 (1964 according to some sources), is a French Academy Award winning screenwriter, film, commercial, and music video director noted for his inventive visual style and manipulation of mise en scène. ... Ted Hope, with partner Anne Carey, is the co-founder of New York production company This is that corporation. ... For the musician and bandleader, see Spike Jones. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... StudioCanal (aka Le Studio Canal, Canal Plus, Canal + Distribution, and Canal+ Image S.A.), is a French-based production and distribution company that owns the third-largest film library in the world. ... Good Machine is an independent film production and film distribution company started in the early 1990s by its co-founders and producers, Ted Hope and James Schamus. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Patricia T. Arquette (born April 8, 1968) is an Emmy Award-winning and Golden Globe Award-nominated American actress. ... Rhys Ifans IPA: (born 22 July 1968) is an award winning Welsh actor. ... Tim Robbins at Cannes, 2001 Height: 6 ft 4 in / 1. ... Miranda Otto (born December 16, 1967) is an Australian Film Institute-nominated and Logie Award-winning Australian actress. ... Fine Line Features was the speciality films division of New Line Cinema. ... Pathé or Pathé Frères is the name of various businesses founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France. ... is the 102nd day of the year (103rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... Comedy film is genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humor. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Michel Gondry, 2005 Michel Gondry, born May 8, 1963 (1964 according to some sources), is a French Academy Award winning screenwriter, film, commercial, and music video director noted for his inventive visual style and manipulation of mise en scène. ... Being John Malkovich is a 1999 film written by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Spike Jonze. ... Tim Robbins at Cannes, 2001 Height: 6 ft 4 in / 1. ... Rhys Ifans IPA: (born 22 July 1968) is an award winning Welsh actor. ... Patricia T. Arquette (born April 8, 1968) is an Emmy Award-winning and Golden Globe Award-nominated American actress. ...

Overview

A philosophical burlesque, Human Nature follows the ups and downs of an obsessive scientist, a female naturalist, and the man they discover, born and raised in the wild. As scientist Nathan (Robbins) trains the wild man, Puff (Ifans), in the ways of the world - starting with table manners - Nathan's lover Lila (Arquette) fights to preserve the man's simian past, which represents a freedom enviable to most. In the power struggle that ensues, an unusual love triangle emerges exposing the perversities of the human heart and the idiosyncrasies of the civilized mind. Human Nature is a comical examination of the trappings of desire in a world where both nature and culture are idealized. For other uses, see Burlesque (disambiguation). ...

Plot Summary

Lila developed a biological disorder when she was thirteen that caused her entire body to be covered in hair by age 20 when she is put on as show. She decides to leave civilization to live with the animals that "have eyes that do not judge". She becomes a successful nature writer and then has enough money to be one in society. She begins to take electrologist sessions to rid herself of her bodily hair. Her electrologist, who claims that she falls in love with the brains of a man but when Lila offers the idea of a smart friend of hers, Louise turns the idea down because he is a dwarf. Louise tells Lila about a man who could be right up her alley. Nathan is a scientist teaching mice table manners as he himself grew up in a strict environment of etiquette and manners. They begin to date and seeing as Nathan is a virgin and almost legally blind, Louise and Lila assume that he won't notice Lila's problem because he doesn't know what a woman feels like and he will be too flattered to have the attention anyway. However, Lila begins to feel angry at Nathan when she meets his parents who believe that nature is fine so "long as it stays in the zoo where it belongs", and Nathan makes no attempt at defending her.

One day Lila and Nathan go for a hike where they discover Puff (named by Gabrielle, Nathan's assistant, who says that he reminds her a dog she had as a girl), who has been raised in the wild. Puff's father believed himself to be an ape and kidnaps his son from his human mother, despite years of therapy, to raise him in the wild. Nathan decides that he will train Puff as he has trained mice.

Gabrielle is Nathan's assistant who is determined to seduce him with her convincing French accent. She assists Nathan as he trains Puff to be a human zaping him with a shock collar as dicipline. She calls him at home one day while Lila is in the bathroom. When he answers, Lila asks who it is. Nathan replies that it is someone from work, but she asks WHO it is from work. He walks into the bathroom, leaving the phone on the bed, and finds Lila covered in shaving cream shaving her entire body. Disgusted, he runs out leaving Lila terrified. Gabrielle hears the argument and takes advantage of the situation to head to the office in provocative lingerie and seduce Nathan. Only when Puff wittnesses Gabrielle and Nathan having sex right outside his glass cage does he show interest in learning the human ways.

Puff learns quickly from questionable techniques. Lila shaves even her hair and eyebrows and begins using a wig and pencil. Gabrielle makes Nathan choose between her and Lila, like in "Sophie's choice" only this was "Nathan's choice". When he offers a "but" she storms out on him. Lila offers to help a very uninterested Nathan. Despite Lila's desperate attempts at becoming more ladylike, Nathan continues to think about Gabrielle.

Once Puff has made significant improvement he is allowed to visit the city and is given the surprise of a comfy room rather than a plain white one complete with a painted chimny, as well as a key so that he may leave as he wishes. Puff uses his new-found freedom to visit strip clubs, prosititues and watch dirty movies.

Nathan tells Lila that he will check up on Puff but instead goes to Gabrielle's apartment. An unattractive Gabrielle is talking on phone in a clear American accent when Nathan knocks at her messy apartment. She quickly fixes her apartment and changes into a lustful French woman. when Nathan returns home to Lila, she asks him what he did that night. He lies but she tells him that she had just picked up Puff from a night in the city. Nathan tells Lila that is in love with someone else and she leaves him.

Puff continues to improve and appears in several events with Nathan and Gabrielle. Gabrielle is now trying to seduce Puff, however. When the three of them are in the lab, a dwarf walks in and forces Nathan and Gabrielle into the glass cage that was once Puff's room. A now hairless and buff Lila walks in and orders that they be tied up. She puts the shock collar around Puff's neck and takes him with her.

Lila takes Puff to the wild and tells him that she will retrain him into the free being that he once was. He protests but she shocks him. They have sex and continue to live happily as apes. Nathan can now not stop thinking of Lila and shows up in the wilderness. At first Lila and Puff grunt but begin speaking because Nathan is threatening them with a gun. However, Nathan drops the gun when he kneels to Lila and Puff picks it up. Nathan is shot in the head. Although one never sees who shot both Puff and Lila testify that it was her. Lila tells puff that she will return to civilization and confess to the murder but Puff must stay to be free. He agrees but only after testifies to Congress about human kind.

When Lila is in jail, Puff walks out to fullfil his promise to Lila and live free. Reporters and spectators follow as he strips his clothes. Right before he heads into the bush a woman stops him claiming to be his mother. He simply tells her that he is glad to meet her, but he is an ape, as his father was. Saddened she tells Puff that she's in the book in case he ever wants to drop her a line. Puff only replies that he is an ape, and ape don't drop lines. Puff heads off and the crown that followed dispurse. After a few seconds, a car drives up and Puff emerges from the bushes and into the car. Inside, Gabrielle, again with her French accent, greets him with a kiss and a jacket. As they drive off together Puff observes the wilderness and the tent where he lived with Lila. 75.175.2.41 (talk) 04:37, 24 March 2008 (UTC)jazmataz

Visual style

Several shots in Human Nature recreate scenes from the Björk music video "Human Behaviour" (1993), also directed by Michel Gondry. This article is about the musician. ... Human Behaviour is Icelandic singer Björks first solo single, taken from the album Debut. ...

Cultural references

The film's structure closely follows the 1921 story A Report To An Academy, by the author Franz Kafka in which an ape addresses a scientific audience, explaining the difficulties he encountered while becoming a man. Kafka redirects here. ...

Production

Steven Soderbergh was first interested in directing Charlie Kaufman's script back in late 1996, when Kaufman was still trying to get Being John Malkovich produced. Soderbergh's considerations for casting were for David Hyde Pierce in the role of Nathan Bronfman, Chris Kattan in the role of Puff (likely due to his character Mr. Peepers on Saturday Night Live at the time), and Marisa Tomei in the role of Lila Jute. He was about to go into pre-production when he was offered Out of Sight and after much deliberation he left the project. Steven Andrew Soderbergh (born January 14, 1963 in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American film producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, editor, and Oscar-winning director. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... Being John Malkovich is a 1999 film written by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Spike Jonze. ... David Hyde Pierce (born April 3, 1959) is a Screen Actors Guild, Tony and Emmy Award-winning American actor, best known for his co-starring role as psychiatrist Dr. Niles Crane on the NBC sitcom Frasier alongside Kelsey Grammer. ... Christopher Lee Kattan (born October 19, 1970) is an American comedian, best known for his work on Saturday Night Live. ... SNL redirects here. ... Marisa Tomei (born December 4, 1964) is an Academy Award-winning American film and stage actress. ... Out of Sight is a 1998 movie directed by Steven Soderbergh. ...

Though not as big a success as Gondry and Kaufman's next collaboration, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, the film has garnered a large cult following of Michel Gondry and Charlie Kaufman fans alike.^{[citation needed]} Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is an Academy Award-winning 2004 American romance film by director Michel Gondry. ...

External links

• Human Nature at Rotten Tomatoes
• Human Nature at the Internet Movie Database