It had been so long since I last had seen this movie. Not sure how long, but probably at least the better part of a decade.
I remember being excited when I knew that this movie was coming out, having read the book. Since not all of Stephen King's books have translated very well into movies, there were some questions as to how well this one would come out.
Also, this movie essentially focuses on the first third of the book. Not sure why that is, although I guess splitting it up into three different sections might have been too confusing, or perhaps there would have been logistical problems in making the movie, and so forth and so on. One way or the other, however, the movie focuses on that first third of the book, almost exclusively.
Hearts in Atlantis is Stephen King's book on the sixties, essentially. It is not the only time that he writes about that decade or those times, but he really makes a point of it in this book. And so, the book, and this movie, have a different feel about them.
The first third of the book, which again, is what the movie centers on, takes place in the very early sixties. If memory serves me correctly, that would be perhaps 1960 or 1961 itself, as there are references to John F. Kennedy, either as President, or a candidate for President.
Now, I was not around during the sixties. When younger, it always felt like I had missed out on something in this regard. This was a decade that just seemed so different. The first past of it seemed almost like an extension of the fifties, an era of conformism, yet an era where America was still enjoying it's so-called "Golden Age". Later on, the Civil Rights movement would really pick up steam, as would the idealism that sprang up. Still late, the whole Vietnam thing, the hippies, Woodstock, drug experimentation, and man walking on the moon (unless you believe some conspiracy theorists, who insist that "the moon" that is pictured is actually a very elaborate Hollywood studio). All of that would come later.
But the 1960's of this movie preceded all of that. There was an idealism that existed, but it was different than what was to come a few years down the road. The country was not yet divided, fractious, to the extent that it would become. It was still a peaceful place, and a land that most Americans thought was unquestionably the richest, freest, most privileged nation on God's green earth to live in. Looking back on it from a historical, or rather perhaps merely a nostalgic, perspective is all that we can really do now, and it always seems to be portrayed in that way, in any case. Undeniably, that seems to be the prevailing opinion, even these many decades later. The whole world seemed more promising and inviting a place, and America was the leader of that world. I have heard some people suggest that it was not exactly like that, yet enough people recall it feeling like that, and that is the impression captured here for the purpose of this story. It was a more innocent time (and yes, I am aware of just how cliche that sounds, but again, this is the prevailing sentiment about those times, and there may have been more than a grain of truth to this). There was a shift in Washington, as Eisenhower (I like Ike!) was yielding to Camelot and the youthful President who looked like a boy.
An older, fully adult version of Bobby Garfield (played by David Morse) is attending a funeral, and reflects upon his younger life (the younger Bobby Garfield is played by Anton Yelchin). We then relive those times, when Bobby is a boy who has just turned eleven years old. Unbeknownst to him, he is rapidly heading towards a more adult life, filled with complications and heartbreak. But not just yet. He is a boy still, and is enjoying the innocence and, yes, fun, of being a child. He has two main friends, "Sully"( John Sullivan, played by Will Rothhaar) and Carol (Mika Boorem).
Bobby's mother, Liz Garfield (played by Hope Davis), is a rather flighty single mom, trying to make it in a world before single moms were commonplace. She is trying to position herself for a better, more profitable job position, but again, the world is much more dominated by males than the world is nowadays. These are the early sixties, after all. They seem to be living a modest life, and Liz Garfield seemingly cannot afford to get Bobby more than an adult library card for his eleventh birthday, although she always seems to have plenty of money to buy herself very nice new dresses and to keep herself looking very pretty and trendy. She passes this off as necessary towards the upward mobility that she hopes to fulfill for herself, but Bobby and others seem to suspect that this is a little too self-serving.
In the meantime, she does what she can to make money wherever and however she can, within reason. The upstairs of their home in a small town in Maine is rented out to Ted Brautigan, played by lead actor Anthony Hopkins. Hopkins is a great actor, and he does not disappoint in this movie, either. He lends the character class and believability, as well as capturing the warmth that attracted Bobby and Carol to this man in the original story.
***Spoiler alart - don't read on if you have not yet seen this movie, and want to see it and not know what to expect yet***
Ted has some special abilities, although they remain rather vague in the movie. He has the ability to "see" things that most other people do not see, an ability to read other people's thoughts, as well as the ability (if memory serves correctly), to see the future- at least, within reason. As mysterious as these abilities are, they are the reason that he is on the run, from a group that he calls the "low men". During this movie, I was asked about the "low men", because these people are the strangest element to the movie, and are hardly well explained. Yet, they are an essential element, as they are responsible for Ted's constantly being on edge, and his eventual capture by the low men. In Stephen King's world, the low men are directly tied to his "Dark Tower" series of novels (seven books, most of them rather sizable) and numerous short stories have been written by King, so a detailed explanation of their role, and how they fit in, is not possible in such a short space. But briefly, I will say that, in essence, the low men are people of a future, a much darker, grimmer future. And they are trying to mold that future, and require the talents of people such as Ted Brautigan, who have special abilities. The low men leave signs when they are looking for someone. They put up lost pet signs, and drive loud and crass cars. Everything they do and are is essentially a turn off to most people. Having their own talents, they use their own special senses to capture those that they pursue, such as Ted.
When Bobby is introduced to Ted, Ted offers him something that he can't refuse: money. A dollar a week (and that would have been a fairly sizable sum, in the early sixties), merely to read the paper to him, as well as keep an eye out in the neighborhood for any signs of the low men. Bobby is initially skeptical of the low men, whom he somewhat dismissively refers to as the "boogey man". But he grows to love Ted, and when he actually does see signs of the low men, he chooses specifically not to tell Ted, because he is afraid of losing his friend.
In the meantime, Bobby is still a kid, after all. He has friends his own age, and he and Carol have kind of a thing for each other. Only, they are still young, and thus, not entirely sure what to do with these feelings, or even how to express them. They are, again, innocent youths. Ted sees all of this, and informs Bobby that he will kiss Carol, and that this kiss will "be the kiss by which all others are measured....and found wanting". Bobby does not believe him and, predictably, overreacts in a typically boyish, horrified manner.
They are kids, after all, just enjoying summer vacation, having the time of their life in the prime of their life, at a time when America itself was having it's best days, arguably. Life is pretty good.
Bobby and Ted get closer, but Ted has these strange spells, when he zones out as he feels the low men approaching. During one of these such spells, he starts almost panicking, and fiercely hugs Ted, trying to snap him out of it. After this physical contact, Bobby finds that he has gotten some special abilities that Ted possesses, although he himself does not know this. He just suddenly has the ability to read people's minds, and things come to a head with these abilities during a visit to the local fair, when he easily beats a tough and suddenly bewildered (and angry) card dealer. He also knows to finally kiss Carol while on the Ferris wheel, just as Ted has predicted.
In the meantime, Liz Garfield has the opportunity to go on a weekend business trip that she thinks will help her achieve a job promotion. But she cannot find anyone to watch Bobby, until she reluctantly askss Ted. She has clear skepticism towards Ted, and is highly suspicious that he is some kind of a pervert. When she ends up getting raped during her weekend trip, she comes home angry, hurt, and betrayed, and facing an uncertain future. In the meantime, Carol has been badly hurt by a much older boy, and has dislocated her arm. Liz Garfield sees this and misinterprets it as some kind of sexual abuse thing by someone that she already dismisses as a dirty old man, and so she gets very angry and throws Ted out of the house. She later calls the number on one of the lost pets sheets, when she sees the name "Brautigan".
Bobby hears the conversation and sneaks out to warn Ted. he manages to do so, too, only it is already too late. Ted is captured by the low men, leaving Bobby alone, essentially, to make sense of this chapter in his life. He has $2,000 from a bet that Ted has placed (again, he has the ability to see the future), and throws this in his mother's face, slamming the door in her face after telling her that in betraying Ted, she has betrayed him as well.
Bobby has to move away at the end of the summer, and he and Carol have one final meeting, before saying goodbye. The promise to keep in touch but, of course, they do not really manage to do so, and go on with their own lives.
The movie ends with a meeting between the adult Bobby Garfield and Carol's daughter. The whole childhood that the movie has revolved around has taken place during one magical summer vacation, when everything was seemingly fresh and new, and the air was warm. But Bobby is now an adult, and it is the harsh cold of winter, and as he visits his old home, it is in a state of rather extreme disrepair. Carol herself died many years before, but she has evidently remembered Bobby all of these years later, and shared her fond recollections of her first boyfriend and the first kiss with her daughter, who seems a bit overwhelmed to meet someone from her mother's past.
Finally, the movie ends with the image of the childhood version of Bobby, riding a bicycle in what looks like autumn, as he explains that what Ted did was opened his eyes and allowed the future in.
Every now and then, there are movies that just give off a special feel to them. I feel that way about some movies, including a few Stephen King movies, as well - including the Green Mile, Shawshank Redemption, and Storm of the Century. This movie, too, has that special feel, and I really enjoyed watching it again after all these years. So, it should come as no surprise that I would highly recommend this movie, and if you feel particularly experimental, you might want to give the book a shot, as well. it explains the events that transpire in the movie much more fully, and in infinitely richer detail. Also, again, there is much more to the story of Hearts in Atlantis (the title refers to how the magic and mysterious feel of childhood is where we keep our hearts, like in the magical and mystical paradise of Atlantis, which so far, has never yet been found) than what this movie focuses in on, and it is a good read. I definitely recommend it!
No comments:
Post a Comment