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| Hearts
in Atlantis Movie Review |
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It is never a good idea to attend a film with high expectations, as you will surely be disappointed.
I had high expectations for Hearts in Atlantis. It had all of the ingredients of an excellent film. Based on a collection of short stories by Stephen King, the film stars Sir Anthony Hopkins and is directed by Scott Hicks (director of the Academy Award nominated film, Shine). The screenplay was developed by William Goldman, whose translation to the screen of another Stephen King novel, Misery, was, to me, quite impressive.
In spite of all of these elements, Hearts in Atlantis simply did not live up to its potential. I had expected a film of award-winning
caliber, and Hearts in Atlantis simply did not deliver.
Hearts in Atlantis is a "coming of age" film. As the movie begins, we are introduced to Bobby Garfield (David Morse) who is returning to his hometown for the funeral of a friend. Upon visiting his childhood home, he is drawn to reminisce about the summer of 1960, when he stood on the threshold between being a boy and becoming a man. It was a summer of childhood foolishness and first kisses. It was the first time that he saw his mother through the eyes of an adult rather than through the eyes of a child. It was the summer that he met Ted Brautigan (Hopkins), a man with special and unique powers, who changed his view of the world forever.
If this "coming of age" theme sounds vaguely familiar, it should. Some of you may recall a little film called Stand by Me (which was also based upon a novella by Stephen King). The premises and themes of these films are the same, but the films themselves are not in any way comparable. Stand by Me was a classic, which was well-written, well-directed and well-acted. Hearts in Atlantis is not destined to be a classic of this
caliber.
The one strength of this film lies in the performances of the actors. I have never seen Sir Anthony Hopkins give a poor performance, and he did not disappoint in this film. Newcomer Anton Yelchin was excellent in his role as the
young Bobby Garfield.
The downfall of this film was the screenplay. The strong performances of Hopkins and Yelchin were not able to compensate for an extremely weak screenplay. The film moved in too many directions, and the competing themes and plotlines never seemed to achieve any harmony. While I am not a person who needs or expects to have every nuance in a film pointed out to me, there were several key elements of the plot that seemed to be missing and too many questions left unanswered at the end of the film. I expected more from legendary screenwriter Goldman, and I was extremely disappointed.
Hearts in Atlantis could have been a great film, but it was not. It was a "nice" film, and at times I enjoyed watching it, but I would recommend it as a pick for the video store and not for the theatre.
 
- 7/10
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Erin
Cullin - Senior Editor
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