Hearts in Atlantis (2001)

I used to be a huge Stephen King fan when I was in junior high, but then I basically grew out of that phase and turned my attention to headier stuff. I went years and years without reading a King book, but could keep up with his work by watching the movie versions. It astounds me that Stephen King books continue to make it to the big screen since they’ve historically not been box office successes (with a few notable exceptions along the way: Stand By Me, Misery, The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile).

Anyway, when Hearts in Atlantis was released in 2001, I wasn’t in a rush to see it, but knew that I’d get around to it someday because Anthony Hopkins is in it. Well, that day didn’t come until yesterday, but I finally did see the film — without having read the short story that it’s based on, so my review will reflect that perspective.

Like many Stephen King stories, Hearts in Atlantis is about childhood and nostalgia. Bobby Garfield (played by David Morse) receives and old baseball mitt in the mail one day, and that item sets off memories of his childhood, beginning with his 11th birthday. From there, the movie flashes back to the 1960′s and we see Bobby (now played by Anton Yelchin) as an 11-year-old in a small town.

Bobby’s father died six years ago, and since that time his mom Liz (Hope Davis) has done nothing but complain about the lack of money and how hard she has to work to make ends meet. She doesn’t have enough money to buy Bobby a bicycle for his birthday (or any other present for that matter) but she always has new dresses in her closet. It’s clear that Bobby is the last thing on Liz’s mind and she doesn’t pay nearly as much attention to him as she should.

Bobby therefore spends a great deal of time with his two best friends, Sully and Carol. He also starts spending time with Ted Brautigan (Hopkins), an older man who moves into the upstairs apartment as a boarder. Ted is a bit mysterious, and talks about how “low men” who cast long shadows and put up posters about missing pets are after him.

As Bobby gets to know Ted, he realizes that Ted has special powers of some sort. Ted sometimes goes off into a trance-like state and is able to read people’s minds. Bobby touches Ted while he’s in one of his trances and a receives a bit of that power for a short period of time.

The rest of the movie is hard to explain as there’s really not much of a defined plot. Are there really low men out there? Yes. We catch a few glimpses of them along the way and they do get Ted in the end, but their presence isn’t enough to make the story suspenseful. There was just one quick reference to them being government agents who want to round up psychics to help root out communists, but that’s all we ever hear about it.

My Reaction: I was a bit baffled as to what this movie was supposed to be about. Was the main focus the relationship between Ted and Bobby? Between Bobby and his mom? Just Bobby? It was very confusing to try to watch this movie without having a clue as to what the filmmakers were trying to convey.

Also, I had no idea why the story needed to be told in a flashback. The adult Bobby didn’t do anything significant (except give a picture to Carol’s teenage daughter), so I’m not sure why the movie couldn’t simply take place during Bobby’s childhood.

I usually get annoyed by young actors playing precocious kids in movies, but I really thought Anton Yelchin struck the right note as Bobby. Anthony Hopkins and Hope Davis were also very good in their roles, but these performances alone weren’t enough to save the movie.

Overall, I couldn’t help feeling that I was missing out on a lot for not having read the book first. Therefore, I give Hearts in Atlantis just 3 stars out of 5 because it doesn’t hold up on its own.