Der Musterschüler

`Apt Pupil', based on the Stephen King novella of the same name, is a wicked little film that delves into an unholy relationship between two evils, one young and hungry, the other old and experienced . . . . and both dangerous. This relationship is what drives the film, and is what ultimately makes `Apt Pupil' a fairly compelling film to watch. The film fails, however, to deliver a satisfying payoff at its conclusion. While there's a lot of patience and care taken to build the story, there's a feeling of incompleteness as `Apt Pupil' eventually grinds towards its ending. `Apt Pupil' takes its audience on a wonderfully acted journey . . . and then stops short of its final destination, as if it couldn't find the final ounce of courage near its end to push beyond good, ordinary film-making and into the realms of film greatness.

`Apt Pupil' is the story of Todd Bowden (Brad Renfro), a seemingly bright, normal, All-American high school student with one secret quirk – he's morbidly fascinated by the Holocaust, viewing it as something dark and cool rather than as something horrifying. He's also incredibly knowledgeable about the Holocaust, which is why he's able to recognize a local old man for what he truly is -- Kurt Dussander (Ian McKellan), a Nazi SS officer wanted for his crimes against humanity. Todd confronts Dussander, telling the old war criminal that he wants to know what happened in the concentration camps – `the stuff they won't tell you in books', as Todd says. Dussander wants nothing to do with this, but faced with having his identity exposed, he is forced to accede to Todd's demands. What follows from there is a malevolent, almost symbiotic relationship that begins to grow and spiral rapidly out of control -- for Todd, it's an introduction into understanding the real face of evil, and for Dussander, it's a reacquaintance with a dark side of his past that he quickly learns to embrace once more. While Todd and Dussander do not necessarily trust one another, they soon realize that they need each other if they want their secrets protected -- namely, Dussander's real identity and Todd's failure to reveal that identity to the proper authorities -- and people are starting to come dangerously close to learning these secrets, such as Todd's parents, and Todd's high school guidance counselor Ed French (David Schwimmer) . . . .

The relationship between Todd and Dussander is the heart of `Apt Pupil', and it's here where the film really shines. Admittedly, the film does open in far too rushed a fashion – it's pretty much Todd immediately confronting Dussander about his true identity; some build-up to such an important moment might've been nice -- but once it stumbles past this rushed opening, it's a joy to watch the cat-and-mouse relationship between Dussander and Todd. Todd thinks he has the upper hand over Dussander, but he literally has no idea about the slumbering evil he's managed to awaken until it's far too late. Meanwhile, Dussander is initially a pitiful man, desperately trying to forget the atrocities he's committed . . . but the pity doesn't last for long. Once Todd forces the old man to acknowledge his past, Dussander realizes that he likes what he used to be – a monster. Both Renfro and McKellan are fascinating to watch as their respective characters; Renfro because he's so chillingly believable, McKellan because he runs the gamut from being a pathetic drunk to a devil reborn. Both characters struggle throughout the film to dominate one another, and that conflict – which, in essence, is the foundation of their twisted relationship – is what sets `Apt Pupil' apart from other films as something worth watching.

The main problem with `Apt Pupil', though, is that besides acting as a wonderful showcase for this evil relationship . . . `Apt Pupil' doesn't really go anywhere. In particular, the character of Todd Bowden doesn't go anywhere. More the fault of the script than of Brad Renfro, Todd never comes across as depraved. He's certainly evil – as some of the acts he commits in the film certainly show – but part of the film is about how monstrously depraved the Holocaust was. Todd is portrayed as a monster, someone who born in a different place and time certainly could have been a Nazi war criminal, but he does nothing to show that monstrous nature. I kept waiting for Todd to commit that one unspeakable act of pure evil that would truly make him Dussander's `Apt Pupil' – and never saw it. Without this unspeakable act, the audience never gets the opportunity to see that Todd really learned anything from Dussander. (Todd's slightly sick and twisted? No kidding! We knew that in the opening credits!) There's a few other things that bring down `Apt Pupil' as well; there's a chance meeting between Dussander and a hospital patient that seems entirely too fortuitous and coincidental; and the casting of David Schwimmer as the guidance counselor is just way, way off the mark.

The ending of the film `Apt Pupil' is markedly different from that of Stephen King's novella. In fact, the novella contains the `unspeakable act of pure evil' that I wanted in the film. Perhaps if I'd been unaware of the existence of the original novella, I wouldn't have felt that the film was missing anything . . . but I doubt it. `Apt Pupil' is a good, solid film that touches on some disturbing issues – but it could've been great, had it chosen to closely examine evil instead of just scratching its surface. `Apt Pupil' is a decent, if somewhat incomplete, movie. Grade: B-

I sincerely hope Imdb is merely falsely reporting a rumor that Stephen King sold the film rights to Apt Pupil for $1, because Apt Pupil is one of the worst screen adaptations of a King novel. It ranks up there with Children of the Corn and, perhaps ironically worst of all, King's "Maximum Overdrive."

Apt Pupil is one of the most chilling King works I've ever read with only Children of the Corn being scarier. It's a cat-and-mouse story of a cocky, smart American kid who discovers that man who lives near him is actually a fugitive NAZI--one of the evil high-ranking officers that has thwarted the authorities for decades. But instead of doing the obvious right thing and turning him in, the boy engages in a deadly quid-pro-quo game of blackmail: he tells "Arthur Denker"--real name Kurt Dussander--to tell him everything that is too explicit for the war books and magazines.

The novel has a very dark ending, which you'd expect when a person makes a critically terrible decision and then tries endlessly to cover it up. This movie almost completely sanitizes it. Further, Brad Renfro was a horrible miscast as Todd Bowden. He acts nothing like the Bowden in the book. The pacing for this film was all wrong and never allows any of the characters to sufficiently develop. Only Ian McKellan and the well-intentioned efforts of David Schwimmer save this film from being a total skunk.

High school student Todd Bowden (played by Brad Renfro) is an "apt pupil", who excels at just about every subject. After becoming obsessed with Nazi Germany, he suspects a man in his city (Ian McKellen) is a former death camp guard. Todd blackmails the man and they become friends... or so it appears. But who has power over who?

I really liked this film. I'm always wary of King movies, because so many directors have botched them. Bryan Singer ("X-Men") is not one of those directors, really capturing the crux of the story here and focusing on the Nazi elements. The imagery and symbolism wasn't overdone, yet not underplayed. I found every scene convincing (although I'm not sure how seeing a photo from the 1940s in Germany would make you suspect a man in America in the 1980s).

Aside from Ian McKellen (who is now best known as Magneto or perhaps his "Lord of the Rings" alter ego), the cast is just phenomenal. Joshua Jackson plays best friend Joey and David Schwimmer, whom I normally can't stand, plays the sexually ambiguous guidance counselor with a bad mustache. Even Elias Koteas (Casey Jones from "Teenage mutant Ninja Turtles") shows up as a homeless alcoholic, who really shines.

The tension in this picture is strong, as the bond between the two friends (or adversaries?) gets stronger. There are times where you don't know who's going to win the power struggle... and once the Israelis enter the scene, it gets even more complicated. You really don't want the Israeli police going after you (as we see in this film).

Anyway, this was a winner. It was in the favorites section of Family Video, and I can understand why. We had humor, drama and a touch of horror (no real romance, though -- maybe briefly). A more well-rounded picture would be hard to find for someone who likes movies off the beaten path... this film is unique.

Before I even start my review of this movie (which I liked) I gotta say "Apt Pupil" has got to be the goofiest name for a story since the hilarious 30 Rock spoof "Rural Juror". Say it 10 times fast and you'll feel like you just came back from the dentist.

Anyhoo...

There have been many films and books that attempt to explain the horror that we humans are capable of. While I haven't read the Stephen King nouvelle "Apt Pupil", I can tell you this film adaptation kept my attention and tossed around some new ideas I hadn't really considered.

If you haven't already seen it, search for the Stanley Milgram experiment. It was a psychological test done by a Yale student back in the 1960s offering one of the most chilling explanations for the phenomenon of Nazism, a convincing illustration of how humans can do horrific things. The gist is that we convince ourselves that we're doing what we're supposed to be doing ("just following orders" or "everyone told me to do it"). The video is online on dailymotion.

"Apt Pupil" surprised me by taking a very different approach which I won't ruin for you. I'll just say that it weaves a complex Machiavellian scheme, where evil is deliberate and conscious of itself. It finds its footing by creating a balance of power, reminiscent of the "mutual assured destruction" philosophy in the 80s that led the USA and Russia to stockpile enough nukes to send us to the Smurf universe.

OK, enough background. Let's talk about the film already. If the premise doesn't capture you instantly, the impressive directing and musical score should suck you in with its heavy, foreboding mood. Ian McKellan (probably best known as Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings but also an accomplished Shakespearean actor) is excellent in the role of an ex- Nazi... a menacing enigma somewhere between a serial killer and a cranky grandfather.

Brad Renfro appears on screen as the perfect naïve kid with a perpetual deer-in-the- headlights expression, sort of like John Cusack in the 80s but without the laughs. The film focuses mainly on the transformation of Renfro's character. It's here where I was unconvinced, and I docked the film a point or 2. Renfro's character mutates so suddenly and drastically you'd think he sucked down some radioactive sludge. I feel a lot of his "experiments with evil" were uncharacteristic and thrown in for shock value. No matter how curious a person is, nobody goes from Pollyanna to animal mutilations in just a month or two. It was this seemingly random, inexplicable moral decay which I felt was just injected for cheap shock value. If you can get past that, the real theme emerges.

The root of human evil, according to "Apt Pupil," is not random moral decay but actually a complex struggle for power. When this theme emerged in the latter half, that's when I perked up and paid attention. The story then takes on a suspenseful air, and the kid & the Nazi get into an interesting game of cat & mouse.

Overall, I'll stick with the Stanley Milgram experiment for the most convincing explanation of human atrocities. But "Apt Pupil" definitely delivers some food for thought. Another film that provides insight is the criminally underrated "Exorcist III" with George C. Scott and Brad Dourif playing mind games in an insane asylum. Also check out the documentary "Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer," or on the lighter side, "Dr. Strangelove" makes an interesting commentary on why humans commit genocide. Who knows why humans kill, maim and torture. But as long as we keep investigating there may be hope for us.

Directed by Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects and both X-Men features), Apt Pupil is a story of adolescent curiosity and evil intentions. Ian McKellen (X-Men) plays the role of an aged, former Nazi soldier living alone in a quiet town with Brad Renfro (Sleepers) as a young, high school teenager in the search of finding the truth about Nazi life in wartime Germany.

Adapted from the Stephen King novella of the same name, Apt Pupil is a psychological thriller with an Alfred Hitchcock-like presence, leaving quite a bit to the viewer's imagination. Much like a game of cards, the action moves back and forth between characters, each trying to take control of one another. While Kurt Dussander (McKellen) wants to keep his past in the past, Todd Bowden (Renfro) keeps probing (and sometimes threatening) to unleash the stories of the reign of Hitler and the torture of the Jews.

While this movie is much like other Stephen King-adapted novels in the sense that it doesn't always translate well to the big screen (with all of the little nuances that made King famous), the superb acting and directing makes Apt Pupil a worthwhile venture into the nature of mental wickedness. Both Singer's vision and McKellen's portrayal of Nazi war criminal bring excitement and intrigue to this movie making it a must-see.