Hearts in Atlantis

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Hearts in Atlantis ★★½ 2001 (PG-13)

Coming-of-age tale tinged with creeps benefits from the odd combination of a story by Stephen King and direction from Scott Hicks, who also directed “Shine” and “Snow Falling on Cedars.” Bobby (Yelchin) is an 11-year-old boy living in lower middle class Connecticut circa 1960 with his widowed mother Liz (Davis). When enigmatic Ted (Hopkins) rents a room in their attic, he offers the boy a job reading him the daily newspaper. He also has Bobby keep an eye out for the “low men” (CIA agents? Mafia?) he believes are pursuing him. Ted offers the male role model and adult attention Bobby craves and the two quickly become close. Ted, it seems, has some kind of psychic ability, which he also sees in Bobby. Although lushly filmed, the plot seems a bit stagnant and listless for a story about young people. 101m/C VHS, DVD . US Anthony Hopkins, Anton Yelchin, Hope Davis, Mika Boorem, David Morse, Alan Tudyk, Tom Bower, Celia Weston, Adam LeFevre, Timothy Reifsnyder, Deirdre O'Connell, Will Rothhaar; D: Scott Hicks; W: William Goldman; C: Piotr Sobocinski; M: Mychael Danna.