Coeurs perdus en Atlantide

Hearts in Atlantis is another Stephen King adaptation I wasn't aware of, it stars Anthony Hopkins, David Morse, and the taken before his time Anton Yelchin.

It tells the story of a small bullied boy, his father has passed away and his mother isn't fullfilling her duties as a parent. When a mysterious man appears in his life everything changes.

I had no idea what to expect but was quickly gripped, it was standard King stuff from small town America to flashbacks of youth to that wonderful charm they all seem to have.

The movie immediatly whispers sweet promises in your ear, you know something is coming and you'll expect it to be big! Sadly it doesn't entirely deliver, in fact I found the big "Revelation" very underwhelming. Don't get me wrong it was okay but not on the level I had expected.

Hearts in Atlantis is a beautiful quaint little tale, but is not one of those big epic life changing experiences that occasionally cross our paths.

The Good:

Cast are on point

Looks and sounds wonderful

Very charming

The Bad:

The twist is very weak

Feels like it should have been better

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Anthony Hopkins simply can do no wrong can he?

To many, Stephan King is a well of horror, Lovecraftian chill that creeps upon us in the dead of night. So when his fantasy of insight comes along, they are struck blind, disappointed, let down by the mildness of the tale.

Director Hicks, screenplay writer Goldman, and the superlative team of Mr. Hopkins and young Yelchin have brought alive this artist's touch of Mr. King, in a finely crafted, sensitive film that just departs from the four walls of our mundane reality. In many subtle touches throughout the film, we -- even those of us Constant Readers who would read Mr. King's laundry list if he published it -- are guided through Goldman's skillful adaptation of the original novel.

Better than the book? Worse? No, this humble viewer will just say that the film can stand on its own, if we are just willing to let our eyes be opened to what can be.

Sure to be one of the best-loved films of this fall, "Hearts in Atlantis" adapted from Stephen King's best seller mines a lot of familiar territory from "Stand by Me," but that beloved film is a good model. In "Stand by Me," it was a writer reflecting back on the childhood summer "when we found the body," here it's David Morse as a photographer remembering the summer of his eleventh year "when Ted the boarder moved upstairs." Downplaying King's supernatural elements, this film slowly, but surely, builds to an emotional payoff every bit as moving as the end of Rob Reiner's gem.

This is a small, gentle film with lots of character development and period atmosphere. The tech credits such as production design and cinematography are superb and bring to life a time--1960--which, for some of us, was not that long ago. The child-actors are perfectly cast, and Anthony Hopkins as the mysterious stranger gives one of his best, most-heartfelt performances. (This guy could read USA Today weather forecasts aloud and make them sound like Shakespeare.) While others may have taken a radically different approach to the material, emphasizing action and suspense, I think screenwriter William ("Misery") Goldman and director Scott ("Shine," "Snow Falling on Cedars") Hicks ultimately hit the right notes. I will interested in seeing if this decidedly low-key approach strikes a box office chord with moviegoers frazzled by the big, dumb summer action films. If there's any fairness left in the world it will. It's that good.

For some, Stephen King is just a mere auteur of horror stories. If you look closer, you'll see he is much more. Nearly all his stories are melancholic tales about the loss of childhood innocence. With a paranormal twist, but that really isn't the most important. I even think that Hearts in Atlantis would have worked even better, if the whole paranormal thing would have been left out. The most interesting aspects of the story are Bobby Garfield and his relationship with his mother, girlfriend and Ted. Whenever Ted brought up the low-men, my personal interest curve got a bit of a dip, but hey it's a Stephen King movie, I guess we'll have to live with it.

As it is, Hearts in Atlantis remains a wonderful film. It's the kind of film where the scenes in the present are filmed in gloomy blue and grey tones, and all the flashbacks get a golden sepia treatment. Sure it's been done before, but rarely have the effects been of such a shattering beauty.

Anthony Hopkins, never shy of giving a bombastic performance, is remarkably soft-spoken in this one, though I doubt that he was really interested in this movie. The star of the show, however, is Anton Yelchin as Bobby Garfield. He looks like the young Elijah Wood, with the same angelic blue eyes, and he's truly captivating. He even has genuine chemistry with the girl that plays his love interest. A big fat ‘wow' is in order here, let's hope he'll get the chance to exploit his talents further.

It's a shame this movie failed at the box-office, but then again so did The Shawshank Redemption. So let's all rent/buy this wonderful film, and boost that IMDb score.

I gave this one a 9/10.

I saw Hearts in Atlantis last night, and I have to say that the more I think about it, the more I like it. After it was over, I couldn't help but remember my "Atlantis." The town in which I grew up in was certainly one of the best places in world. I lived there from the time I was born, until I was 18. Hearts in Atlantis made me remember what it was like to be a kid, and to really not have a care in the world (except what time all my friends were going to meet to play football or baseball). Of course I understand now that there is much more to life then riding bikes and playing games, but a part of me wishes I could go back, just for one more day. I loved when the Hopkins character explained how when you're a kid a day could last forever, and the place in which you lived seemed almost like a paradise...like Atlantis must have seemed. This movie made me remember my "Atlantis," and I am glad that I saw it.