Hearts in Atlantis

The plot has some background eeriness, but what else would you expect from a Stephen King story? What surprised me was the strong acting, the philosophical value for all ages (its a family film) and the connections it brought to mind from my own childhood. This is no crusade of social significance, but there are lessons here for all of us that are presented in a passive yet interesting way.

I noticed three storyline oddities. Most of the story is a flashback, you know what happens to the three childhood friends as the story begins and two significant characters are mostly or completely absent. Regardless, there is no loss of impact to the plot.

I also realized in retrospect, that a multifaceted lens is used by the protagonist both at beginning of the story and in the flashback as a metaphor for viewing life, past and future.

Tension is introduced in the story by the arrival of a tenant who is obviously running and hiding from something. This older man falls into a natural mentor role for the child protagonist, Bobby. Its the strongest archetypal component in the story, although in the rite of passage, there are also shape shifters, shadow forces and even a trickster.

Anthony Hopkins plays Ted Brautigan, the older tenant who arrives in Bobbys childhood. Hopkins now 64, became an American citizen in 2000. He retained his English citizenship and knighthood. He has appeared in nearly 100 performances, including both film and TV during his 36-year career. Hopkins received an Oscar as best actor for his role as Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs (1991).

The Special Features section of the rental DVD includes a thirty-minute interview of Hopkins by Scott Hicks, the director. This alone is worth the rental price. Hopkins relates his thoughts about psychic ability and he talks about his immersion in the Stanislavsky acting methodology. His personal approach to film acting is to do nothing extremely well and to let the camera and the audience do the work for you.

Anton Yelchin plays Bobby Garfield as a child. He and his parents, both ice skaters by profession, immigrated from Russia. I thought his performance was outstanding and so did Hopkins. He has already been in half a dozen films. David Morse gives a good performance as Bobby Garfield, the adult.

Mika Boorem plays Carol, Bobbys childhood friend. She is a couple of years older than Yelchin and has already been in 13 films including Blue Crush (2002).

Hope Davis plays Liz Garfield, Bobbys mother. She does a great job portraying a self-centered person who is reluctantly a mother. I just saw her as Warrens daughter, Jeannie, in About Schmidt (2002). As a teen, Davis performed with the summer Joffrey Ballet and now works primarily in stage plays.

Reviewed July 4, 2003