Human Capital (2019) User Reviews (121)

Not nearly as bad as they say

[onewhoseesme · 7/10 · 9 July 2021]

People don't like being lied to, but the movie is not that bad. The large amount of initial fake up voting has come back to hit this one in the head, reaping a harvest of dissatisfied low voters. That being said, the film is very watchable with a level of political correctness and snowflake character insertions, not too difficult to overcome. Like most this is by no means great, but then quoting other critics is not a review. There's a lot of that going on here by those who have nothing to say.

The only ones raging against that are the millenials and snowflakes who probably feel misrepresented by some of the characters who are them. Liev Schreiber is not Ray Donovan here, and no one should expect him to be; Marisa Tomei plays her part just fine, as does Peter Sarsgaard who has always been very consistent in my view. There's seems to be a growing mob of millenials who've discovered this site in recent years, whose depth and knowledge of cinema is almost non-existent. They know how they feel and sometimes even what they want, but not much else.

Both the film and the characters in it are fractured, portraying people who are broken self absorbed and a bit lost. Not in some deep meaningful way, but in the shallow selfish amoral way that our society has become. The series Succession and recently Mare of Easttown, are very much that same way. Where people lack both identity and loyalty as well as the sense of community that used to undergird most of society. Much of the dialog is that of the insider where you are expected to know, so you'll have to pay attention to find meaning. The Counselor was misunderstood and disliked for the same reasons.

Cold distant detached people living for themselves in their own little wreckage of something that used to be made up of caring and giving with just a little bit of respect. Crash was like that, so was Heat, just earlier versions. Though this is not as good as either of those films, especially Heat. The problem a lot of youngster reviewers have with it is that it does not resolve anything, it just shows you the problems but it does not answer. Only God can do that, but no one wants to hear it. It's worth watching for what it is, and I would watch it again.

Tribulation Saints and The God Haters, our 2 books on fb.

When the 43 producers...

[Top_Dawg_Critic · 5/10 · 20 March 2020]

...and the rest of their film crew - and their family and friends, ridiculously up-vote their film. No way of the current 1,616 ratings this film is even close to a 8.8/10.

Film critic Noel Murray from the L.A. Times nailed it: "Frankly, the payoff to the movie's mystery is unsatisfying after all the buildup. None of these three stories really works as a short film on its own."

There's no excuse for this mess considering director Marc Meyers and writer Oren Moverman are not inexperienced film-makers.

A 5th grader could've written, directed and edited this film better! Think 3-4 different films put in a shredder, then random pieces taped together to make one film.

There is terrible plot transition between what you'd think is the key story, another one pops up, then a mish-mash of back and forth timelines, then an entirely new focus on another plot, etc. Add to this the terrible pacing, and the 95 min run-time felt like 3 hours of a convoluted mess.

Meyers also failed miserably in directing his cast - Schreiber and Tomei seemed barely awake, and you couldn't quite place Hawke's personality... one minute she's an introvert, then an extrovert.

This film had a lot of potential, but missed the mark big time. Maybe too many producers pulling at each other with the direction this film needed to go. Then again, with that many, the phony up-votes were easily achieved.

Skip this mess or read the novel instead. It's a very generous 5/10 from me.

Too little, too late

[kosmasp · 6/10 · 9 March 2021]

You know when you have a nagging feeling that you have seen a movie (or any other kind of Deja Vu), but you know you didn't? And then you (me in this case) may think, it's because I've seen so many movies, that's why it does feel familiar. And then you search the title here on imdb and realize you've seen the Original (Italian I think) movie? Which is far better than the remake - and I'm saying this while being fully in love with Marisa Tomei in general.

I singled her out, but you have a stellar cast overall of course. But still and while this does have certain things working for it (if you are into dramas), it also has quite a lot that you may consider to annoying for you. Or if you've seen the original, have seen done better for drama and other effect ... If you don't mind subtitles then - watch the one from 2013 - you're welcome

Award for most fake ratings on IMDB?

[random-70778 · 15 January 2020]

In early Sept, within one day of first screening of this film at Toronto, it had 1,400 IMDB nine and ten star ratings which is more people than saw it at the festival.At this point exactly 11 of the 1,400 votes are from accounts which have rated another film. In other words this is >99% fake uprating. At Toronto most of the audience was fidgeting throughout, and look simply fatigued at the end of the film. Forget the few gushing reviews on the 'critics reviews" section here from reviewers who give everything a ten in hopes of getting free festival junkets. The legit outlets like Variety and Ebert panned this turgid nonsense. Variety: "its convoluted narrative rigging not leading to any particular sense of meaning" (the rigging and artificiality of the plot is cringeworthy) Ebert: "'Human Capital' is the type of middling, middlebrow mediocrity that strives to be about capital-I Ideas but approaches them with the savoir-faire of a toddler."

My take: 1) Can someone tell Marisa Tomei that she cannot act her way out of a paper bag? She was jarringly distracting evidence of overacting in "Frankie" and this is worse. The other actors in this, Schreiber, Betty Gabriel, Maya Hawke do OK. 2) what is the point of talking down to the audience and banging them over the head as if they are idiots?

skip this mess.

Different from what I expected (and that is a good thing)

[paul-allaer · 7/10 · 27 July 2020]

"Human Capital" (2019 release; 95 min.) brings the story of Drew Hagel and his family. As the movie opens, a guy finises his shift in catering and bikes home. It's dark and raining, and a Jeep injures him gravely in a hit-and-run accident... We then get to know Drew and his family. Drew is dropping his daughter Shannon, a HS senior, off at the mansion, which is the property of Shannon's boyfriend's parents, the dad of which shrewdly running a hedge fund. After exerting some pressure,. the guy agrees to let Drew invest in the hedge fund, despite Drew not really being qualified to do so... At this point we are 10 min. into the film but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: first, this is the latest film from Marc Meyers ("My Friend Dahmer"). Here he remakes the 2014 Italian movie "Human Capital", itself an adaptation of the US book. I've not seen the Italian film or read the underlying book, and hence cannot make any comments how this US remake stacks up against these. Second, this film is super plot-heavy so unfortunately I can only comment in the vaguest of ways so as not to spoil anything. All I will say is that the film uses an interesting way to advance the plot, namely revisiting the same facts from different perspectives (Drew's, Shannon's, etc.), which ultimately reveals all. The film benefits immensely from its lead performances: Liev Schreiber (as Drew), Peter Sarsgaard (as the hedge fund guy), Marisa Tomei (as the wife of the hedge fund guy) and last, but certainly not least, Maya Hawke (daughter of Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman) as Shannon. Surely we have not seen the last of her...

"Human Capital" premiered at last Fall's Toronto International Film Festival to positive buzz and was picked up for a US theater release. Then of course the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, so the film eventually was released on various streaming platforms. The film recently opened at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati, in full compliance with all CDC guidelines and local and state-issued mandates. The particular screen where it played made about 18 seats available (in a 120 seat theater). The Sunday early evening where I saw this at was attended so-so (4 people in total including myself). If you are interested in an interesting take on the human condition, I'd readily suggest you check this out, be it in the theater (if you can), on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.

Packs a Punch Before Pulling It Back

[TwistedContent · 6/10 · 21 March 2020]

"Human Capital", directed by Marc Meyers ("My Friend Dahmer") is the second screen adaptation of Stephen Amidon's novel of the same name. I have neither seen the first one nor read the book, but this version of "Human Capital", mainly being carried on the shoulders of a great cast, is an effortful suburban tale of what happens when people get pushed to their limits, mental, physical and financial alike, a tale that sometimes hits and misses.

"Human Capital" is a character-driven drama structured in retrospective kind of way, putting a single event in the center of it and then telling each character's journey and role in said event. This story-telling works well for the first hour, but as it progresses it also gets slower, leading into a silent and unsatisfying climax which in retrospect makes "Human Capital" feel more like a build-up in its entirety. The story and themes from which it's weaved from is realistic, relevant and tries to touch your strings, but does so unsurely. Financial hardships, father/daughter and husband/wife relationship problems, depression, suicide, sexual freedom - all of these themes are there on some level, but they don't connect together as well as they should've. It is the acting work by the well put together cast that makes up for some flaws, even the smaller roles are filled in with familiar faces and commendable performances. In my opinion, the brightest highlight shines on Live Schreiber and Maya Hawke. Visually it's quite obvious that "Human Capital" is made on a limiting budget and seems like most of it went to the cast (well deserved, good choice), so visually it has come out a standard indie drama/thriller flick, with no extraordinary solutions or distinctive characteristics.

"Human Capital" is not a bad movie but neither is it memorable, it engages as a character-driven with enjoyable performances drama but has a knack to eventually underwhelm in most of the other areas. Recommended to those who are intrigued by its cast. My rating: 6/10.

I only watched this movie because of it's rating

[mwillis-07699 · 3/10 · 22 March 2020]

I watched this entire movie with great anticipation waiting for a storyline to emerge, Unfortunately, by the end of the movie, I was trying to figure out how it could possibly get such a high rating. I found nothing interesting about the storyline because it was way too fragmented with too many characters with their own boring stories to tell. By the end of the film, I was very confused about what the exact point it was trying to tell. I wished I hadn't wasted so much of my time watching it.

13 reasons why with Ray Donovan

[MattHankinson · 7/10 · 24 April 2021]

Was interested in watching this film mainly due to liev schrieber starring and the plot sounded decent. It started off brilliant and went a bit slow in the middle, with an ending which should've happened tbf. The right person was apprenhended. Life moves on.

I enjoyed how we kept seeing the film from different people's perspectives.

It went a bit college 13 reasons why in the middle and lost a bit of its spark and was a bit stereotypical cringe. But I was interested to see what happened, and content with the ending.

Where's the plot?

[rpberger · 1/10 · 11 May 2020]

This movie jumps around too much and presents no clear story or arc. There is no character development, the lines are poorly written, and it is an overall waste of time.

Why are people rating this so high?

[agbertoni · 6/10 · 22 March 2020]

Yes, it has a great cast, but... that's about it.

Otherwise it's a rather pedestrian "lives crashing together" type drama, centered around a car accident. It's also rather obvious what happens.

Atrocious Waste Of Time

[omendata · 2/10 · 24 March 2020]

Not the worst film I have ever seen but it comes close. There is actually a user review which rates this as the best film he has ever seen - that is what a full 10/10 stars means.

Maya Hawke has to be the most annoying and tedious actress I have seen this year but obviously got the gig due to daddy and mommy dearest - sad how nepotism is destroying the movie industry!

I am not even going to waste my time reviewing it but just to warn others who may think the low marks are shills and the current rating is real. They are not wrong and it is not!

Watch this and you will waste hours of your time with NIL payoff, so save yourself the tedium and go watch some paint dry or cut your toenails, you will have more fun!

Like stepping up to the plate to hit a single but hitting a triple instead

[TuesdayThe17th · 8/10 · 26 May 2021]

Many people are shaming this film for any reason they can think of. The story jumps around too much, the film feels over produced, its slow and tedious. .... Well guess what ya'll? That's exactly what this film is meant to be and if your too focused on every flaw you dig up you're actually missing all of the beauty within.

To me, this movie was great. It was utterly captivating. I couldn't look away or move my seat because I felt so invested with the characters and their stories. Everything on display is neatly laid out, and as an experienced film critic and fan, I can easily say this movie is worth it. Every actor nails their role. Maya Hawke is a beautiful young lady dealing with the heavy burden of being a teenager when she meets the boy of her dreams. I hope one day she has as much stardom as her father does. Alex Wolff(my favorite actor under the age of 30) is great as usual in another role that was written with him in mind. Watch as he subtly rubs the viewer the wrong way

I am very happy with how this movie played out as it was a nice character driven drama with a nice overlay of tension through out. Some people cant appreciate these types of films because they are so conditioned by hollywood and their blockbusters. Marc Myers is proving to be quite an interesting director. I say its a solid A. 8 out of 10 stars. 16 out of 20 tennis balls.

not bad at all as some reviews here would suggest

[hannyze · 6/10 · 11 April 2020]

Don't listen the 1-4 ratings it's similarly does not cover the truth as the 8-10. it's a decent movie, good acting and the title makes sense at the end. good for a Thursday night.

what

[hotmilo-25388 · 2/10 · 21 March 2020]

If you would like to watch nothing in particular happening for 95 minutes then this is the film for you

Not so engaging

[Gordon-11 · 21 March 2020]

This story tells what happens to each of the characters before the accident, and how these events intersect. To be honest, the events are interesting but not told in an engaging way. I don't care about any of the characters, which is central to the success of this film.

Human Capital more like what did I just watch.

[lakings97 · 6/10 · 20 July 2021]

Human Capital is a remake of the Italian movie by the same name but made for the American audience but this one didn't translate well, it was dull and confusing from the beginning. It stared Liev Schreiber whose daughter intertwines with Marisa Tomei's family over a deadly accident. Peter Sarsgard played Marisa's husband who losses Liev's investment and doesn't pay him back till he is manipulated. The story even gets more confusing when it's portrayed from each character's point of view, I would have just fast forwarded it to end scenes and skip the rest of the flick. It was good to watch once, but it just wouldn't be worth watching again.

I liked it

[rpatty-36287 · 7/10 · 2 December 2020]

It was kind of slow. Jumped back and forth. But it kept my attention. Liked seeing Marissa Tomei again.

Why not see the original?

[Marko_Rop · 1/10 · 25 March 2020]

Original movie was so much better (Il capitale umano) . Why do people even make English versions of movies that are great in their native language (Italian in this case) and making them dull and copy pasting original movie?

A Pleasure to Watch Such Skilled Actors, But Lacking Any Real Payoff

[Metaflix · 6/10 · 23 March 2020]

Marc Meyers' 'Human Capital' is a resourceful melodrama that adequately relies on one of the better ensemble casts assembled so far this year, though it largely lacks the compelling nature and overall substance that was seen in Paolo Virzi's 2013 version of the film based on the same source material.

Liev Schreiber plays Drew, a Brooklyn real estate agent who crosses paths with Quint Manning (Peter Sarsgaard), a hedge fund manager who offers a financial investment that one should suspect as being too good to be true. As Drew hustles for enough money to buy into the scheme and the resulting payoff doesn't go as planned, the rest of the picture's high caliber cast is drawn into the mix, including compelling turns by Betty Gabriel, Marisa Tomei, and Paul Sparks.

Each actor is so perfectly cast and each character is so precisely defined that one only wishes that the plot itself were more compelling, with higher stakes and more grounded interactions. Given that this film is adapted from the novel by author Stephen Amidon yet heavily influenced by the Italian version of the movie of the same name, the everywhere-and-nowhere tone seemingly stems from hewing to two different masters but inadequately paying tribute to either.

Such is the dichotomy of 'Human Capital': a pleasure to watch such skilled actors make the most of the roles they are given while being frustrated at the nagging lack of any real payoff.

Erm, that was pointless.

[gabbafella-76199 · 1/10 · 21 March 2020]

Time seemed to slow whilst watching this. I have no idea what the point of this film was, it's slow, incredibly boring and served no purpose whatsoever. Dull characters and an extremely bland story made this painful viewing.

Quiet but Thought-Provoking Film

[albertval-69560 · 7/10 · 6 August 2022]

This is a psychotherapist's delight what with all the dysfunctional characters with serious issues. And it's fascinating how their stories pan out.

The major actors are great but Maya Hawke really shines in this one. She can hold her own against the veteran actors who're with her in this film.

The flashbacks could be a bit disorienting when these start to happen but the viewer adjusts quickly to what's going on on-screen. The stories work out just fine.

It's a tragic ending for some but not hopeless. And that's the message of this film.

Wth?

[almalekayman · 1/10 · 22 March 2020]

This movie is pointless. Ffs i don't even know why i wasted my time.

Great movie with a lot of bad reviews

[bjtromp · 8/10 · 5 July 2021]

Very nice movie if you like this kind of movies :) Based on the book by Stephen Amidon.

Not bad

[pouriyaerfani-00032 · 6/10 · 21 March 2020]

The acting and the story were good, it's totally watchable. For me the rate 6 is suitable because the story could have been written much more better

It should have been much better........

[redwards-81247 · 4/10 · 1 August 2020]

But the movie is a letdown. Its to rushed, jumps around and then at the end its much to hurried. The cast in name is good, but thats about it. Its a one done.