‘Why do we always expect home to stay the same? Nothing else does...’
Hearts in Atlantis is one of Stephen King‘s least well known works, and so, perhaps it is no surprise that Scott Hicks’ 2001 film adaptation has also fallen by the wayside. Not helped by the fact that it was released two weeks after 9/11, Hearts in Atlantis was coolly received by critics and audiences at the time, and it has pretty much faded from view in the public consciousness since then. This is a shame, because while it is certainly one of the less bombastic adaptations of King’s works (it’s one of the only ones in which nobody dies onscreen), it is also a competently made and well acted fantasy fable…
Bobby Garfield (Anton Yelchin), a young boy in 1960s small town America, lives a humdrum life with his penny-pinching and anxious mother, Liz (Hope Davis). That all changes when Ted Brautigan (Anthony Hopkins), a mysterious older man, suddenly moves in upstairs. Elsewhere, Mika Boorem appears as Bobby’s girlfriend, Carol; King regular David Morse plays Bobby as an adult; and Alan Tudyk cameos as a sinister card shark.
Now, this is already an odd choice of adaptation from King’s vast oeuvre. Hearts in Atlantis is the name of a collection of loosely interconnected novellas and short stories, with Low Men in Yellow Coats and Heavenly Shades of Night Are Falling being the ones that are adapted here. Confusingly, the story entitled Hearts in Atlantis has nothing to do with this film, and so, the justification of using that title has to be shoehorned in using some unconvincing dialogue. The other issue is that Low Men in Yellow Coats is heavily linked to King’s Dark Tower series. This means that legendary writer William Goldman (The Princess Bride, All the President’s Men) has to twist and contort the source material into a standalone story. This also renders the villains of the piece, the ‘Low Men’ from the story’s title, much less terrifying. In the book, they are a cruel and vindictive supernatural force. Here, they are simply a shady governmental organisation, broadly drawn and loosely defined. This robs the film of much of its dramatic stakes, leaving behind a story that is languid and enjoyable but not very propulsive.
Hicks’ assured direction (it shares the same nostalgic haze as The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile), along with a talented cast, ensure that Hearts in Atlantis is still worth watching despite its lack of action. Yelchin, appearing in his first major film role, demonstrates the kind of emotional maturity that allowed him to flourish in more grown up roles later on (until his tragic death at the age of 27), Hopkins is as watchable as ever despite sleepwalking through much of the film, and Davis brings some emotional complexity missing from the character in the books. We understand more why Bobby loves his mother in this version.
Hearts in Atlantis is destined to be a mere footnote in the history of King adaptations, but fans of King’s more sedate work will find plenty to enjoy here.
