Review of Being Human (1994) by Stuart K — 20 Feb 2009

Bill Forsyth was one of the most promising talents of the 1980's with films like Gregory's Girl, Local Hero and Comfort and Joy. However, all that came crashing down around him, when he made this well-intentioned but flawed allegory of the human condition.

The story is split into 5 different timelines, but they all follow the character of Hector (Robin Williams), who is a figure in a study of social history. We see him as a caveman in Pre-historic times, trying to fend off raiders, we see him as a slave to his doomed Roman master Lucinnius (John Turturro), then we see Hector in Medieval times falling for Friulian beauty Beatrice (Anna Galiena), then as Portuguese Rennaisance man in the aftermath of a shipwreck, then as a modern day New York real estate tycoon, trying to connect with his children, all connected by little coincidences.

It's a thoughtful film, and one whose central message is one of us just being who we are, until the next life. Williams gives off (a few) good performances), but it could have used some of the whimsy that made Forsyth's early films work so much, (the film was a bad victim of studio meddling), but Scotland looks beautiful, and it has a good supporting cast including Vincent D'Onofrio, Bill Nighy, Ewan McGregor.

Robert Carlyle, David Morrissey and William H. Macy. ;).