Wow! Such a good movie.

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

I like movies based on Stephen King novellas. Occasionally I like films based on King's novels (e.g., The Shining), but two of my favorite films based on King's writings are Stand By Me and The Shawshank Redemption. Apt Pupil is based on a King novella and directed by Bryan Singer, the innovative director who gave us The Usual Suspects. Throw in a leading role for the rising star Brad Renfro (The Client, Sleepers) and a supporting role by British veteran actor Ian McKellan, and what more could a guy want? Plausibility, for a start. Not having read King's novella, I am not sure if I should blame him or rookie screenwriter Brandon Boyce, but the flaws in the film are in the story.I often tell students in my film classes that there is no greater "sin" in filmmaking than to take a story worth telling and tell it poorly. Apt Pupil is about a bright 16-year old high school senior who becomes fascinated with the holocaust. Long after the subject has passed in his history class, Todd Bowden (Brad Renfro) continues to read and research. As a result of his intensive research, he becomes convinced that a reclusive neighbor is Nazi war criminal Kurt Dussander, former commandant of several concentration camps. Todd gathers evidence (including fingerprints and photos) and when he has assembled irrefutable proof confronts his neighbor with his past. Rather than turn Commandant Dussander in, however, Todd wants to blackmail him--not for money, but for stories. Todd wants to know "what they won't tell us in our classes." Todd wants to know what it felt like; he wants to hear the stories. Somewhat predictably, the evil from the past works its way into the present and becomes a cancer on the soul of both characters.The basic premise of the film is interesting, the acting is excellent, and there are some nice touches in terms of cinematography. What keeps this generally good film from being a really good film is three plot points that are too contrived to elicit the willing suspension of disbelief in the viewer. The device that Dussander uses to turn the tables on Todd is a bit thin. Even thinner are two subsequent identifications that become problematic for Dussander. With a little more work I think the writers could have accomplished the necessary twists and turns in a manner that was not so thoroughly implausible.In spite of this, the movie is engaging and certainly disturbing. It is disconcerting to realize that the human capacity for evil is so easily invoked. In light of recent hate crimes, the message of the film is an important one. I had hoped for something like The Usual Suspects meets The Shawshank Redemption. In the end, Apt Pupil is better than average, but a bit short of what it could have been.

This critically acclaimed multi award winning Stephen King adaptation is a weird creature, a dark thriller tale which makes you question the definition of evil.It tells the story of a boy who discovers that a neighbour is an infamous war criminal, a high ranking nazi responsible for the deaths of countless people. He decides to blackmail him, he is fascinated and wants to know more about the nazi history. But the more he learns the more he takes a turn for the worse and the mind games between the man and boy escalate.Not only is Apt Pupil dark and highly thought provoking but its also oddly homoerotic, heavy undertones from several different sources and I cannot figure out for the life of me why these were included.The cast is stellar and really helps the film, full of veterans like Ian McKellen, Bruce Davison, James Karen & Elias Koteas. Also along for the ride we have Joshua Jackson and Friends alumni David Schwimmer.Despite this cast and despite it being a King adaptation I don't see the grand appeal. It's not a terrible movie it's just poorly executed and difficult viewing in places. As a psychological thriller it delivers and is very thought provoking. As nearly 2hrs of entertainment it kind of fails (For me anyway)The Good:Outstanding castGreat conceptThe Bad:Deeply uncomfortable viewingUnnecessarily homoeroticSome of the movie defies logic somewhatMany cast members are badly wasted as barely on screenThings I Learnt From This Movie:David Schwimmer with a moustache looks like someone who shouldn't be trusted alone with children, or animals, or even remotely sexy looking fruit73yrs since they surrendered and 20yrs since this film and Nazi's are not only still a thing but going strong, this is a terrifying fact.

Sadly whatever made the novel good is lacking in this adaptation.Apt Pupil is a movie that feels like a new director took over every five minutes with a different idea of where the movie should go. It creates a vortex that sucks up any chance at emotional connection to the characters or overall film.What little plot there is gets rushed. There are several times when the film is too lazy or simply incapable of properly showing passages of time so it simply cuts to black 'X weeks/months later..' screens.Poor editing destroys any chance to introspect on the conversations between Kurt and Todd. One moment Kurt will be describing Holocaust victims defecating on themselves in the gas chamber and then abruptly a basketball is on screen and Todd is at school in gym class. Then a moment later his friend is talking about dates and parties in the locker-room.The on screen chemistry between Kurt and Todd is that of a wet paper-towel. The characterizations feel wrong and not in an interesting way. Think of an adult being scared of a baby. That's basically what you get. Kurt, a former SS officer who worked in both Bergen-Belsen and the notorious Auschwitz camp shrinks constantly away at Todd who is nothing but an angsty spoiled emo teenager. The movie would've been far better served with a more aggressive stance from Kurt, especially when the movie is attempting to show how evil and 'badass' the Nazis were.Even without any sort of chemistry and with Kurt being blackmailed and forced to dress up for Todd, he abruptly takes a shine to him ala Miyagi style and impersonates being his Grandfather to the guidance counsellor and the movie shifts into Todd's school life and trying to get his grades up.Then it shifts back to them hating each other. Then abruptly Kurt, who is a wanted fugitive who has intelligently and carefully concealed his identity for decades and lived a law-abiding life in the US decides to stab someone.None of it makes much sense and we care even less to figure out why because he doesn't like Todd and Todd seems to be a blossoming sociopath who doesn't like anyone except himself.Ultimately I feel like what I watched was a boy's masturbatory fantasy about having his own private SS officer to dress up, interrogate and harass mixed in with odd and boring clips of teenage high school angst.Not good for a movie that bills itself to be basically a Nazi thriller.

The movie Apt Pupil begins with a slow, but definitely solid start. Our protagonist, Todd Bowen, is an honor student at his high school. His history teacher is teaching "holocaust week" and Todd becomes intrigued and heads off to the library after class for more information.On his bus ride home, he spots a man who looks familiar- a little too familiar. Todd recognizes him to be Kurt Dussander, a Nazi who is being hunted for various crimes he committed during the second world war. After collecting a lot of evidence proving that the man he spotted was indeed Kurt Dussander, Todd decides to confront him. He gives Dussander (who is living under the alias Arthur Denker) an ultimatum; tell me all about your involvement in the holocaust, or I turn you and all the evidence over to the police. Dussander agrees to share his stories with Todd, and thus was the beginning of a confederacy that was to lead both parties involved down a path of darkness. Ian McKellan gives an amazing performance as the sarcastic and witty Kurt Dussander. In my opinion, McKellan definitely carried the movie. He was totally convincing as the seventy-five year-old former Nazi, so much so that it was almost hard to imagine him as the same man who would later play as the vivacious villain Magneto of the X-men series, or the kindhearted and powerful wizard Gandalf of the Lord of the of the Rings. Brad Renfro gave a less thrilling performance as Todd Bowen, the highly intelligent protagonist with a shade for the sadistic. Renfro was too many sullen stares, bored smirks and petulant exclamations, and too little harsh resolve, but at moments he did shine. And perhaps his moody performance was somewhat appropriate to the character, a teenage boy entangled in something from which he could not escape.I cannot accurately draw a comparison between the book and the movie, having only seen the movie, but I can say that from what I've heard and read, the book and movie should be judged on their own merits. The movie isn't so much as an adaptation as much as almost a reinterpretation or retelling of the original story, and has a drastically different ending from the book. All in all I can say that I enjoyed the film- it didn't absolutely blow me away or have me eager to watch it a second time- but it was worth the paltry sum that I paid for it and maybe more.