[KING'S CORNER] Hearts in Atlantis (2001)

Hearts in Atlantis - King's Corner Review

Welcome to King's Corner. A recurring series of reviews based on the film and TV adaptations of Stephen King's novels and collections, reviewed and released in order of the original source material publishing date.

Director: Scott Hicks

Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Anton Yelchin, Hope Davis, David Morse, Alan Tudyk

Written by: William Goldman

Produced by: Kerry Heysen

Cinematography by: Piotr Sobocinski

Original Score by: Mychael Danna

Synopsis:

A young boy's life changes for the better when a mysterious man with psychic powers moves into the family home that he shares with his widowed mother.

Thoughts:

When you look at the history of Stephen King’s work on the big (or small) screen you tend to focus on the directors or the actors who have starred in one or multiple adaptations of his work but it is fair to say that in a lot of cases, the screenwriter’s contributions are overlooked. One such writer (and legend of the industry) is William Goldman. As one of the most acclaimed screenwriters in the history of Hollywood, he has won two Academy Awards for his work on 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' and 'All the President's Men'. As well as this you might recognise his work on other renowned films such as 'Marathon Man', 'A Bridge Too Far' and 'The Princess Bride'. In terms of his adaptations of King’s work, the outcomes vary from the three times he has tackled his work. 'Misery' has a terrifically tense character driven script while the less said about 'Dreamcatcher' the better. The third (which isn’t talked about often enough) is 'Hearts in Atlantis'. 

Whilst carrying out revisions for his novel 'Bag of Bones', Stephen King wrote the novella, 'Hearts in Atlantis' which looks at the college experiences of a young man during the Vietnam War. This along with another novella (Low Men in Yellow Coats) and three short stories formed the basis for his story collection 'Hearts in Atlantis' where every story was connected to each other. King explained this in an interview with Stanley Wiater for Barnes and Noble in September 1998 when he said, “The four stories kind of relate, kind of revolve around the Vietnam experience. Not about the war itself, but more about how the war influenced American thought and the way that we behave”. The collection was completed and published in September 1999. 

The strong relationship between Castle Rock Entertainment and Stephen King in the wake of the success of the likes of 'Stand By Me', 'Misery' and 'The Shawshank Redemption' led to the adaptation of 'Hearts in Atlantis' with Scott Hicks taking the directors chair and William Goldman being tasked with writing the script. This would prove to be a difficult prospect for Goldman in trying to write a film that spans a collection of stories but this adaptation focuses primarily on the story 'Low Men in Yellow Coats' with the short story, 'Heavenly Shades of Night Are Falling' serving as a framing device of the central story. This version of the story sees Bobby Garfield reflecting on the summer from his childhood when he met Ted Brautigan for the first time. 

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With this approach to the screenplay there are clearly a number of changes from the collection but the one that stands out is the removal of all references to 'The Dark Tower'. Goldman opts for something more grounded by focusing on the relationship between Bobby (Anton Yelchin) and Ted (Anthony Hopkins). The pair have terrific chemistry as Bobby tries to figure out what his new upstairs neighbour’s game is when he asks him to keep an eye out for “Low Men”. In 'The Dark Tower' they are henchmen of the Crimson King who hunt down psychics known as "Breakers" to use them to take down the tower. Here they are painted as being more like FBI agents and a news story featured in the film suggests that that J. Edgar Hoover is targeting people with such abilities in the fight against communism, which is probably the best way to approach the material in an attempt to keep the adaptation as grounded as possible. 

The key to this is the paternal relationship that develops between the two as you focus more on it rather than the more heightened elements of the film, It plays out like an inversion of the relationship between Todd Bowden and Kurt Dussander in 'Apt Pupil'. Whilst there is a warmth to the way in which Hopkins plays Ted, he leaves the door open just enough to raise some sense of doubt about the mystery that surrounds his character adding a layer of intrigue to him which is a credit to Hopkins performance. His character also monologues and philosophises about all manner of things relating to life. This might feel repetitive after the first few times but when an actor of Hopkins calibre is delivering it then you don’t mind as much. 

For an actor of such a young age, Yelchin displays a great deal of maturity in his performance as he learns a lot about life and the disappointment that can come with his relationship with his elders over the course of a summer. There is a great deal of emotional depth surrounding his sense of curiosity and the manner in which he can hold his own opposite an actor of Anthony Hopkins calibre is impressive. You also feel the weight of his lessons in his eyes throughout making you see why he was such a successful actor before his tragic death at such a young age. 

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Thematically, the film is all about how we confront our memories. Be they good or bad there is no stopping them once the floodgates of the past open up and you have no choice but to face them. The exploration of Bobby’s perfect summer with his friend’s Carol (Mika Boorem) and Sully (Will Rothhaar) is overshadowed by the cruelty of the bullies and ultimately the realisation that the wide eyed optimism Bobby has is eroded away by the harsh realities of the cruelty that comes with adulthood. It is a constant flow of nostalgia to melancholy and the film treats this like waves throughout to great effect. 

This idea is also reflected in the look of the film. When it opens we find an adult Bobby (David Morse) working on some photography when he gets news of Sully’s death. For this opening of the film the look is seeped in blues and greys alluding to a present that is stripped of any sense of joy or happiness pertaining to childhood. Even the production design reflects this with dull looking sets and old broken down houses. Initially when Bobby recalls his youth there is a warmth injected into the film with colours popping off the screen but as the story progresses they gradually fade as the weight of Bobby’s realisations about the nature of adults slowly crushes him. 

When you look at the themes and ideas at play (as well as the setting and structure in the film) it is hard not to find comparisons with 'Stand By Me'. Whilst that film captures the emotional journey of the four boys on their way to find a dead body perfectly, 'Hearts in Atlantis' overdoes it emotionally. The lessons Ted imparts on Bobby are handled in a way that feels like he is monologuing to him which becomes a case of diminishing returns every time he does it as their impact lessens each time (despite Hopkins best efforts). The score from Mychael Danna doesn't help matters either as it cloaks these types of scenes with a maudlin atmosphere that is hard to shake. 

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There is a reason 'Hearts in Atlantis' often gets overlooked out of all the King adaptations from Castle Rock Entertainment. It is far from the worst but is nowhere near the best. As well constructed as it is, it is also a film that bites off more than it can chew in trying to tackle multiple stories at once. The central relationship between Ted and Bobby is handled well thanks to the performances of Hopkins and Yelchin but it pushes the boat too far in terms of how it handles the emotional elements of the film, making for a solid but unremarkable piece of work. 

Verdict: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

-Joseph McElroy