Rating: 
Summary: Great soundtrack, but something missing overall...
Review: Just watched this movie for the second time and remembered why I didn't add it to my list of favorite films. The movie has the potential to be great but seems to try too hard to be another "Shawshank Redemption", losing focus and glossing over parts of the film that might deserve more, while paying too much attention in other areas that don't improve the viewer's experience.The oldies-filled soundtrack is one of the best things going for the movie, offering familiar and mostly upbeat tunes, even if the placement might feel too obvious. Others have mentioned what a fantastic job the younger actors do, and Anthony Hopkins is competent here, though it has to be noted that he wasn't working with stellar material to begin with. Overall, Hearts in Atlantis offers some good scenes and music, but serious Stephen King and Anthony Hopkins fans are likely to be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: Subtle & Understated Film Requires Multiple Viewings
Review: First of all, let's get one thing straight: this movie focuses only a very small portion of King's novel, and not necessarily even the best part. Portions of the film are quite faithful to the novel, but much of the nuance of King's excellent novel is lost in the translation to the screen. Still, when considered on its own merits, the film is really quite good. The child actors are very believable, and the interplay between Anthony Hopkins' enigmatic telepath and the children is really quite subtle and very touching. Hope Davis also plays the main character's tortured, conflicted mother tragically and convincingly. Unlike Green Mile or Shawshank, the film does not end with a "wow" moment. The film is much more intimate and subtle than either of these other King adaptations, and that is the beauty of it. While the film may not resonate with all viewers, it is actually a very touching story about a boy's loss of innocence, although it lacks the broader vision of King's novel.
Rating:
Summary: Mirroring moods
Review: Although not a Stephen King fan, the name "Anthony Hopkins" on a DVD label always chains my eye. Hopkins' ability to impart many facets to a character always makes watching him work a keen pleasure. It's disheartening, however, to watch a superiour talent squandered on a weak plot. Hopkins strains to cast off King's sparse characterisations, very nearly succeeding. Hicks and his cinemetographer also struggle to impart life into the otherwise narrow roles. King's insistence on portraying life as if we all lived in a dark Bedlam limits their options. The result is a sequence of tight focus, either through narrow apertures or as mirror reflections, on people and events. Given the plot restrictions, there's little else they could do. It makes for grand visual dramatics, but leaves little scope for the cast to maneuvre. Even a county fair is squeezed into a shill's booth and a Ferris wheel seat. Hopkins, in a supporting role to young Anton Yelchin, is a fugitive. The parable of the kindly old surrogate father with special talents is so hoary it bears whiskers. In this case the "special talent" is that of a psychic with wide-ranging capabilities. Hopkins, as Ted Brautigan, doesn't want to fall again under the clutches of anti-communist J. Edgar Hoover's minions. They're "low men". He enlists bobby [Yelchin], an 11-year old in a mid-sized Connecticut town, to keep nit. The "low men" will put up posters on telephone poles [in the name of reason, why??], wear dark suits and drive flash cars. No stereotyping, here, folks! Yelchin, feeling the first stirrings of testosterone, is caught between lusts - his neighbour Carol and the bicycle in a shop window. Of course, Bobby and Carol are victimized by the local bullies. And, of course, Hopkins . . . whell, you work it out. Child actors like Anton Yelchin are enigmas. If you can't get the little buggers to brush their teeth or go to bed on time, how do you get them to take direction in front of a camera? Especially in a film with all those intense close-ups? In the Special Features with this film, Hopkins and Hicks laud Yelchin for his "natural talent". It's not a contestable point. Whatever Yelchin is to his mum and schoolmates, he's outstanding here. He exhibits no outsized affectations - he appears fully natural. His moods reflect his [too rapidly] growing awareness of the adult world's complexities and disillusionments. As he gropes with these challenges, he matures, but not beyond reasonable bounds. It will be interesting to see what else he achieves. Good fortune will keep him away from further Stephen King enterprises. Perhaps something with Harrison Ford would hone his skills. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
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