Roll-M |
Hearts in Atlantis (starring Anthony Hopkins, Anton Yelchin,
Hope Davis, David Morse; written by William Goldman, based on the novel by Stephen
King; directed by Scott Hicks; rated PG-13)
Beautifully executed and long on production values, Hearts in Atlantis
will steal your heart. It’s based on a Stephen King novel, but refreshingly,
this story is only vaguely paranormal-related. Anthony Hopkins turns in another
winning performance (did someone say “Oscar®?”) as a mysterious stranger who
rents from a widow with a young son. The story is told through the eyes of
Bobby, played by promising young actor Anton Yelchin. Set in Connecticut in
1960, this nostalgic tale of a boy’s coming of age in his last summer of childhood
is never maudlin and always compelling in its leisurely pace. Hopkins, as Ted,
the stranger with psychic powers and an enigmatic past, makes us wish we had
such a benevolent force in our lives. David Morse as the adult Bobby learns
the lesson most of us must face sometime in our lives – you can’t go home again.
Or can you?
Goldman is one of Hollywood’s top screenwriters, with 24 scripts to his credit,
ranging form Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the President’s
Men, The Princess Bride and Chaplin to this year’s
not-so-wonderful Jurassic Park 3. He definitely redeems himself
for the latter with Hearts in Atlantis. Rating 4 ½ out of 5
Life as a House (starring Kevin Kline, Kristin Scott Thomas,
Hayden Christensen, Jena Malone, Mary Steenburgen; written by Mark Andrus; directed
by Irwin Winkler; rated R)
Life has not been fair to George (Kevin Kline). His family has left him,
he loses his job, and his son is full of self-destructive teenaged angst. And
then he learns he has cancer, with only months to live. What’s a person to
do? Build his dream house of course, all the while transforming his life and
the lives of those around him. As George tears down the shack he’s been living
in (read: miserable life) and begins constructing the framework for his new
home (read: new life), he begins to reach his distant son and his ex-wife. No
subtle metaphor here – the title literally says it all.
This character-driven film is actually quite watchable. We feel as if we’re dropped in the midst of these people’s lives, and we care about them (well, some of them, anyway). The acting is excellent, and while the humorously bittersweet story may be predictable, the script contains some of the smoothest dialogue in some time. It’s the intelligent, thoughtful writing that makes this a movie worth viewing. Rating 4 out of 5.