‘Boy, be careful. You play with fire...’
Sometimes a film can be well made, well acted, compelling and all the rest of it, but still fail to chime with audiences. There can be numerous reasons for this, in the case of Apt Pupil, it seems that the content was simply too unpleasant to the point that even David Schwimmer sporting a wonderful moustache couldn’t save it…
When Todd Bowden (Brad Renfro) discovers that his local neighbour (Ian McKellan) is a Nazi in hiding, he develops an infatuation that soon becomes deadly. The two become embroiled in a sinister cat-and-mouse game that has disastrous consequences for all involved.
I will begin by saying that I have read Stephen King’s novella many times due to it featuring in the same collection of short stories that also features The Shawshank Redemption and Stand By Me. I should also add that the book is much more gruesome than the film, indeed, in a pre-internet age, it was through this book that I first learnt the grisly details of the atrocities carried out in the concentration camps during WWII. Bryan Singer’s film adaptation tones down the violence and changes the plot to make Renfro’s character slightly less odious but the crux of the film remains the same – a troubled teen gets off on hearing graphic war stories from a terrifying butcher. It’s a concept that made many queasy upon release and while I enjoyed Apt Pupil, there are moments that are difficult to sit through – most notably when McKellan goes dead behind the eyes whilst marching around his apartment wearing full Nazi regalia.
Apt Pupil is one of the less celebrated King adaptations but it’s also one of the better ones – if you can stomach it.