Hearts in Atlantis (2001) - Beautiful photography and performances drive Hicks' King adaptation

♥♥♥♥

 

A mysterious story teaser and a very popular star in Anthony Hopkins reach for our interest on this poster for Scott Hicks' Hearts in Atlantis

Bobby is a quick-witted 12 year-old boy in 1960. He lives with his inattentive mother, when a strange man named Ted moves into their house, and a series of experiences follow for Bobby.

 

Hearts in Atlantis is written by William Goldman (Chaplin (1992)), adapting the novella Low Men in Yellow Coats from the story collection Hearts in Atlantis (1999) by Stephen King (Roadwork (1981)), and directed by Scott Hicks (The Wanderer (1974)).

Behind the quizzical poster is a surprisingly good film, really beautifully photographed (by Piotr Sobocinski (Ransom (1996))), with customary neat period music. It is a rare King adaptation largely without supernatural/horror elements, (SPOILER except for the fact that Ted has psychic abilities.)

There is eminent acting between Anthony Hopkins (Red Dragon (2002)) as the melancholy-wise Ted and Anton Yelchin (Green Room (2015) as the irrefutably intelligent and charming Bobby. There are also good supporting performances from Hope Davis (Wayward Pines (2015-16)) as the flawed mother, Mika Boorem (House (2007, TV-series)) as the girl, and from Celia Weston (The Intern (2015)) and Alan Tudyk (Playing God (2021)) in single scenes.

A perfect ending is missed, as Hicks insists on an unnecessary, laughable framing story, where good David Morse (Wall Street (2014, TV movie)) as adult Bobby spells it out for us without a shade of subtlety that the events we have just witnessed would become decisive for his later life. That ending is a shame.

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 31 mil. $

Box office: 30.9 mil. $

= Huge flop (returned 0.99 times its cost)

[Hearts in Atlantis premiered 7 September (Toronto International Film Festival) and runs 101 minutes. Shooting took place from October 2000 - February 2001 in Virginia. The film opened #3, behind fellow new released Don't Say a Word and Zoolander, to a 9 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it left the top 5 in its second weekend and grossed 24.1 mil. $ (78 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Spain with 1.3 mil. $ (4.2 %) and Australia with 1.1 mil. $ (3.6 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 3.5/4 star review, translating to a notch over this one. Hicks returned with No Reservations (2007). Hopkins returned in Bad Company (2002). Hearts in Atlantis is rotten at 49 % with a 5.80/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

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