The book Hearts In Atlantis contains 4 longish, and vaguely related Stephen King stories. This film is adapted from one of those stories "Low Men In Yellow Coats" (curiously, not Hearts In Atlantis" itself), though it drops one of the key elements of the novelette, namely the tie-in with King's Dark Tower epic, and it has to do this in view of the fact that the movie audience will be unfamiliar with the wider framework of The Dark Tower.
Never mind. This adaptation stands on its own very well. It is a tale told retrospectively of one summer in the young life of Bobby Garfield (Anton Yelchin, in an early role). This summer had many things to mark it out, but one of these things was the presence of Ted Brautigan (Anthony Hopkins). Brautigan is the main Dark Tower tie-in in the book, so the film has to "mcguffinise" him in a different way. It doesn't matter: it works perfectly well in the context of a stand-alone film.
Things happen, mostly low-key and fairly lyrical but, in King's typical way, they tie together and make a greater whole. Yelchin (and Mika Boorem, his young co-star) are both excellent, and Hopkins turns in one of those performances which one might call luminous rather than (as is sometimes the case with him) lurid.
Yes, it's a Stephen King genre story, but it is well told and engaging. A small and undiscovered gem.
Never mind. This adaptation stands on its own very well. It is a tale told retrospectively of one summer in the young life of Bobby Garfield (Anton Yelchin, in an early role). This summer had many things to mark it out, but one of these things was the presence of Ted Brautigan (Anthony Hopkins). Brautigan is the main Dark Tower tie-in in the book, so the film has to "mcguffinise" him in a different way. It doesn't matter: it works perfectly well in the context of a stand-alone film.
Things happen, mostly low-key and fairly lyrical but, in King's typical way, they tie together and make a greater whole. Yelchin (and Mika Boorem, his young co-star) are both excellent, and Hopkins turns in one of those performances which one might call luminous rather than (as is sometimes the case with him) lurid.
Yes, it's a Stephen King genre story, but it is well told and engaging. A small and undiscovered gem.