![]() ![]() The film's screenplay sticks quite faithfully to the basic idea of King's story and reproduces some of the most famous scenes verbatim (except for one moment of animal cruelty, which had to be softened), although a few subplots are excised, presumably for the sake of length and pace. Soon enough, the perverse bond between the two starts affecting the boy's grades and behavior, and Dussander isn't unaffected either: somewhere deep inside lies the old Nazi, and that part of his personality would like to come out and play. What he really wants is to learn everything - and he repeatedly emphasizes the word "everything" - about the former Nazi's work under Hitler's regime. The unexpected thing is, Todd doesn't want to report Dussander to the police. However, a young boy named Todd Bowden (Brad Renfro from the Grisham-inspired The Client) manages to uncover the old man's real identity thanks to some thorough research and tells him about the discovery. There is a Nazi involved, though: his name is Kurt Dussander (Ian McKellen), but he's been living quite peacefully in your average American neighborhood under the name Arthur Denker. ![]() Okay, minor correction: WWII has virtually nothing to do with this story, given it takes place in 1984. Stephen King's Apt Pupil, which is part of the novella collection Different Seasons (alongside the stories that inspired The Shawshank Redemption and Stand by Me), is a valid example of how you don't need things to be openly supernatural to have a good scary tale: a "human" incarnation of pure evil will do just as fine, and few images are more effective than those of the atrocities perpetrated by the Nazis during WWII. However it's worth a watch for great direction by Singer and a good lead by McKellen. Overall it is a flawed film because it doesn't go as far as it should nor does it manage to totally sell the characters to us. The direction is great and features plenty of great shots throughout the film. Singer was always going to have a tough time following the amazing Suspects, but here he does pretty well. As a film in it's own right it's OK but it doesn't quite convince and has an uneasy tone to it. It's hard not to compare this to the book and beside that it pales slightly. An actor of Koteas shouldn't have done such a minor role but Schwimmer gives a good performance that isn't his usual 'Ross' thing again. McKellen is perfect in the lead role and he manages to be larger than life. However he does manage to keep his changes semi-realistic without descending into being OTT or turning into a cartoon character. Brad Renfro is good but I can't help but compare him to the character in the book and see his short fallings. The ending is different from the book but I'm in two minds if it works better or not. ![]() Dussander himself is well crafted but his descent into evil doesn't go far enough to be truly captivating. ![]() The plot is interesting but the depth Todd sinks to isn't convincing as half of it is forced on him and the other half he seems to embrace it. Treating the film as a separate entity it isn't bad but it happens too quickly and doesn't go deep enough. The film does a good job but makes many changes that will disappoint those who know the book. Having read the short story prior to the film being made I knew that this was going to be a difficult subject to bring to the screen. However the relationship changes both Dussander and Bowden, bringing evil to the surface in both of them. Bowden offers not to turn Dussander in if he agrees to tell him what it was like to carry out the crimes he did during the war. He lives in Bangor, Maine, with his wife, novelist Tabitha King.Young high school student Todd Bowden uncovers that an old man in his neighbourhood is really Nazi war criminal Kurt Dussander under the name of Arthur Denker. He is the recipient of the 2020 Audio Publishers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2018 PEN America Literary Service Award, the 2014 National Medal of Arts, and the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. His epic works The Dark Tower, It, Pet Sematary, and Doctor Sleep are the basis for major motion pictures, with It now the highest-grossing horror film of all time. His novel 11/22/63 was named a top ten book of 2011 by The New York Times Book Review and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller. Mercedes (an Edgar Award winner for Best Novel and a television series streaming on Peacock). His recent work includes Billy Summers, If It Bleeds, The Institute, Elevation, The Outsider, Sleeping Beauties (cowritten with his son Owen King), and the Bill Hodges trilogy: End of Watch, Finders Keepers, and Mr. Stephen King is the author of more than sixty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. ![]()
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