The Human Stain (2003)

In The Human Stain, Anthony Hopkins (always a pleasure) is ideally cast as an embattled dean who has gamely accepted the betrayal by his colleagues and the loss of his long career and marriage, all for a trumped-up charge that was politically correct yet false. (Its irony is gradually and tensely unveiled throughout the movie.) Nicole Kidman plays against type as a conflicted and demoralized woman with a past she wishes she could forget. This is a complex and captivating movie that wasn't properly supported by its studio because its intricate structure and sensitive racial and sexual content requires thought and maturity to appreciate. Hopkins's best line -- "This isn't my first love and this isn't my great love, but it's my last love" -- shows a man with the moral fiber, forged through fire, to stand up for what he believes and what he wants, no matter what others may think (even if the naysayers mistakenly think they have morality on their side). Four stars.