Hearts in Atlantis 2001

What if one of life's great mysteries moved in upstairs?

6.758 / 10   514 vote(s)
PG-13
Drama

A widowed mother and her son change when a mysterious stranger enters their lives.

Release Date 2001-09-28
Runtime 1h 41m
Directors Piotr Sobociński, Scott Hicks
Producers Kerry Heysen, Bruce Berman, Michael Flynn
Writers William Goldman, Stephen King

This is certainly a case of less is more from Sir Anthony Hopkins. His considered performance as "Ted" lends much to this otherwise rather simple story of a widow (Hope Davis) and her young son "Bobby" (Anton Yeltsin). He befriends the young boy - much to the suspicion of the rather selfish, but loving, mother - and soon they are sharing confidences and the odd secret power as their bond gradually cements. It looks at the story from the older man's perspective as he reminisces about his own youth and from an engaging, enthusiastic Yeltsin's as the kid having his first love, dealing with school bullies etc.. It's delicately delivered: it has pace, but it is slow and thoughtful - and is a fairly faithful rendition of Stephen King's original story. Michael Danna's gentle accompaniment helps the story nicely, too.

CinemaSerf