SYNOPSIS
Part mystery, part nostalgic coming-of-age tale, Scott Hicks’s lyrical, leisurely film of Stephen King’s story captures the innocence, pain, and confusion of childhood. In one unforgettable summer, Bobby Garfield (Anton Yelchin), a lonely 11-year-old boy, is befriended by Ted Brautigan (Anthony Hopkins), a mysterious lodger. But the man makes clear that he is only passing through, and as the boy grows more and more attached to his new friend, he realizes that the dark forces the man fears aren’t just “the boogeyman.” Accompanied by a soundtrack filled with 1950s pop tunes, Hicks (SHINE, SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS) evokes the timelessness of childhood hand in hand with the innocence of an era, a time when a boy’s first new bike was the Holy Grail, and his first kiss was “the one by which all others will be judged–and found wanting.” The first-rate cast is headed by Hopkins, who plays Brautigan with compassion and warmth coupled with an understated sadness, and the young Yelchin, who paints a raw portrait of a lost little boy finding his way in the world. William Goldman (THE PRINCESS BRIDE, MISERY) penned the script, and the film is dedicated to cinematographer Piotr Sobocinski, who died before its release.
