L'allievo

Apt Pupil is a movie of symbolism, it is a movie of metamorphosis, it is not a movie to be brushed off, taken lightly, nor is it to be watched if you want anything even remotely uplifting. It is a thoroughly depressing movie about corruption and the very root of evil. You'll find no plot summary here because you can scroll up slightly and find one. I can tell you Ian McKellen is one of the finest actors in the world and even solidifies that unlikely people like Brad Renfro and David Schwimmer can be incredible actors in their own rights. The movie poses several questions, almost none of which it answers and indeed might not have answers. It is, at it's core, about evil feeding into evil. The boy's evil reawakens the old man's evil, the old man's evil stokes the boy's evil and it continues to crescendo throughout coming to an incredible climax. A fascinating and thoroughly challenging movie.

"Apt Pupil" is well directed, with some interesting themes of power lust and evil feeding on itself, and great acting by Brad Renfro and Sir Ian McKellan, but I was put off by the very loose holds on reality. The plot alone is full of insane coincidences (a kid obsessed with the Holocaust just happens to bump into a Nazi war criminal, and that war criminal just happens to share a hospital room with one of his victims), but even the characterizations are a stretch. Renfro's character is very odd, and there is no given reason for why he is so naturally evil. And while it is hard enough to accept that McKellan would be bursting with evil 40 years later, with no hint of remorse (or even insight) about his past, it is completely ridiculous to assume he would be spending his evenings gassing cats and killing homeless people. The direction and acting make it worth watching, but in the end, I just couldn't take this overly serious movie seriously.

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.

I read the novella in high school, and I found it scary, disturbing, and a real grabber - I couldn't put it down until I was done.

As for the movie version, I'm sorry to say it doesn't work. While there have been much worse Stephen King adaptations, this is still pretty weak. Someone else here said it's been sugarcoated, and I agree. It's been watered down so much, that character's actions that were easy to understand in the book become "Whaa - why did he do that?" here. The ending is the worst part - though I can understand why they may not have been able to recreate the novella's original ending onscreen, couldn't they have thought of a new ending that was better than the one they used here?

The acting is good, one of the few things that works here.

In short: if you have read the novella, do NOT watch this movie - you'll be horrified in a way the filmmakers didn't intend. The positive comments here seem to come from people who haven't read the novella. I still wouldn't recommend this movie even for non-readers, but if you must watch this movie, I strongly urge you to read the novella after you've seen the movie. It'll really open your eyes (in more ways than one), and you'll see how much better the movie could have been.

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.