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Anthony Hopkins, Anton Yelchin, Hope Davis, Mika Boorem, David Morse ... see more see more... , Alan Tudyk , Tom Bower , Celia Weston , Adam Le Fevre , Will Rothhaar , Timothy Reifsnyder , Deirdre O'Connell , Terry Beaver , Joe T. Blakenship , Brett Fleisher , Joel F. Haberli , Evan Moses , Joshua Billings , Valerie Karasek , Graham Bardsley , Keith H. Beyer , Robert V. Maine , Sean Edwards , Mickey Leon McBride , Wes Johnson

One of the short stories in a best-selling collection by author Stephen King becomes this mystery adapted for director Scott Hicks by screenwriter William Goldman, who previously transformed a King st... read more read more...ory into a box-office hit (Misery, 1990). In the summer of 1960, young Bobby Garfield (Anton Yelchin) is sharing adventures with his best friends Carol (Mika Boorem) and Sully (Will Rothhaar) when an enigmatic lodger named Ted Brautigan (Anthony Hopkins) rents a room in his family's boarding house. Bobby's self-absorbed, widowed mother Liz (Hope Davis) couldn't care less about her son, so Bobby, who is being tormented by local bullies, quickly befriends the otherworldly Ted, becoming his confidante, and reading the paper to him to save the aging man's failing eyesight. Soon, Bobby learns that Ted possesses supernatural gifts, has a haunted past, and is being pursued by sinister men whose intentions are unclear. Hearts in Atlantis co-stars David Morse, who appeared in the previous King adaptation The Green Mile (1999), as the adult Bobby. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Flixster Users

63% liked it

22,439 ratings

Critics

50% liked it

135 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 41 min.

Directed by: Scott Hicks

Release Date: September 28, 2001

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DVD Release Date: July 27, 2004

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Stats: 902 reviews

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Ted Brautigan "Bobby Garfield" (Anton Yelchin) and "Carol Gerber" Hearts in Atlantis Hearts in Atlantis
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Flixster Reviews (902)

  • Tomassgringo
    March 14, 2011
    Tomassgringo
    Another surprise story from Stephen King! So many things about the boy's Mom upsets me. Even though "bogiemen" are the obvious villains, I find the Mom the real villain.
  • liquidchick76
    January 23, 2011
    liquidchick76
    I'm always apprehensive when it comes to one of King's adaptations. King's books are rich and complex narratives, and much of that is lost in the transition to the screen. Hearts in Atlantis, however, was a decent adaptation. The book is a spin-off of the Dark Tower series, bu... read moret is a decent stand-alone book (I read it before the Dark Tower series and really enjoyed it). The book tells three intertwined stories, and the movie really only focuses on one of them. The main thing I noticed that may detract from the film, is that it never really explains anything. Therefore, I think the film makes a good companion piece to the book, but people who haven't read the book may be left feeling confused and unfulfilled.
  • Redlats
    November 8, 2010
    Redlats
    Most of Stephen King's books involve the supernatural somehow. After a while, that gets to me - our world is not a world where much is supernatural. But in some of Stephen King's stories, I don't mind the supernatural aspects - stories like The Green Mile, and this one.

    Ted (v... read moreery well played by Anthony Hopkins) comes into Bobby's life and provides a needed father figure. He guides Bobby through the best summer of his youth.
  • LWOODS04
    June 4, 2010
    LWOODS04
    CAST: Anton Yelchin, Hope Davis, Anthony Hopkins, Mika Boorem, David Morse, Adam LeFevre, William Rothhaar, Alan Tudyk, Tom Bower, Celia Weston

    DIRECTED BY: Scott Hicks

    SUMMARY: An elderly man (Anthony Hopkins) with bad eyesight and a gift for second sight moves into a wido... read morewer's home as a boarder and befriends the woman's young son (Anton Yelchin), who reads to the aging visionary and learns of his mysterious power -- and the danger he's trying to escape. Set in the 1960s, this coming-of-age drama based on a short story by Stephen King came on the heels of the successful adaptation of King's The Green Mile.

    MY THOUGHTS: "I enjoyed the movie but by the end it just felt incomplete. I haven't read the story, but I am thinking there must be quite a bit missing from the film, and so much more to know in the book. It just felt like the story wasn't completely told. But besides it feeling a bit empty, the movie was really interesting. I loved Anton Yelchin in this movie. He played such a sweet and honest role. The mother got on my last nerve. I felt bad for what happened to her, but she was such a selfish mother. All in all a good little film, and my only complaint is it feeling a bit unfinished. But well worth the watch for the story and the acting."
  • ythelastman89
    January 11, 2010
    ythelastman89
    A very good movie, although I can't exactly call it amazing. It's one of Stephen King's less fantastical stories, but just as well written. The characters are very well honored and have a lot of development. It's a very touching movie and reminds me a lot of the way Frank Darabon... read moret adapts King's novels.
  • matertenebraum
    July 27, 2009
    matertenebraum
    Having read the short story by Stephen King , the film is fairly true to the book and like the book it leaves you with a feeling of "that was good but is that it?" I have a theory that when King wrote the story he hoped it would lead to a novel but for some reason or another it w... read moreas cut short much like the film and book. In the film you are left with no doubt that the Lowmen are real but in the film you never know if it is part of the boy's imagination or if they are police and the old man is on the run from them. The book also focuses on the Supernatural side of the story the film does not and i would suspect makes it feel quite slow for some viewer's. Hopkins is great as usual , as is the boy , Anton Yelchin and the latter has a great career ahead of him. One thing that does come from this is that i usually always enjoy Castle Rock productions is this is no different
  • dreamfaeries
    September 22, 2008
    dreamfaeries
    Nicely done.
  • Deano78
    September 22, 2008
    Deano78
    A pretty good film based on a Stephen King novel. It may be a bit slow for some, but overall it is an enjoyable film about a guy who reminisces about his best summer as a young boy. A good character story which in places has similarities with Stand by me and is quite a heartwarmi... read moreng film.
  • cosmo313
    August 20, 2008
    cosmo313
    A very good film that looks great and is filled with nice music, great acting, and a very nice sentimental feeling to it. Worth a look.
  • Gx7
    October 31, 2007
    Gx7
    A disappointment to the book. this was nowhere near shawshank or the green mile.

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Critic Reviews

Peter Travers
October 3, 2001
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Hicks ... coats the film in a bogus idyllic mist that substitutes cheap sentiment for blunt truth.

Michael Atkinson
October 2, 2001
Michael Atkinson, Village Voice

The unblinking sympathy for kids struggling with evil and with the strange frequencies of prepubescent passion can, if your defenses are down, lay you out. Full Review

Michael O'Sullivan
September 28, 2001
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post

Hicks's film is magical, but its magic comes not from the inexplicable phenomena we most commonly associate with King, but from the charms of childhood.

Rita Kempley
September 28, 2001
Rita Kempley, Washington Post

A precious respite from the postmodern era and all that it entails.

Edward Guthmann
September 28, 2001
Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle

Unabashedly sentimental, it's meant to touch our hearts in profound and important ways, but misses the mark by drawing too deeply from a pool of schmaltz. Full Review

Gene Seymour
September 28, 2001
Gene Seymour, Newsday

The story's enchantment feels forced and coy, its mysteries tricked-up and flimsy. Full Review

Lou Lumenick
September 28, 2001
Lou Lumenick, New York Post

A fussy piece of schmaltz that makes you long for Stand By Me, a vastly superior coming-of-age tale from King's pen.

Rex Reed
September 28, 2001
Rex Reed, New York Observer

A sweet coming-of-age story set in the summer of 1960, akin in mood to [King's] Stand by Me. Full Review

Bruce Westbrook
September 28, 2001
Bruce Westbrook, Houston Chronicle

Put simply, the movie drags. Full Review

Rick Groen
September 28, 2001
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail

All that early promise goes for naught when the picture approaches the final act, whereupon the various mysteries yield solutions that prove to be silly or sentimental or both. Full Review

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Hearts in Atlantis Trivia

  • Very Hard Question. Anton Yelchin and Mika Boorem co-star in two movies released the same year. Which are they?  Answer »
  • What actor/actress links these movies together? The Mask of Zorro Hearts in Atlantis How the Grinch Stole Christmas Fracture Surviving Picasso The Bounty  Answer »
  • Who is the director of "Hearts in Atlantis"?  Answer »
  • Who are playing the same character in "Hearts in Atlantis"?  Answer »
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