Hearts in Atlantis

Hearts in Atlantis is a unique film starring Anthony Hopkins and Anton Yelchin. Anton Yelchin plays Bobby, a young boy living with a widowed mother who encounters a strange man named Ted Brautigan. Ted, played by Anthony Hopkins, is a man who is being followed by a group of mysterious men. Later in the film, one learns that Ted is a psychic who is being tracked by the government. This film has great plot, character conflict, and life lessons.

Ninety-five percent of the plot takes place in a flash back by a middle-aged Bobby. The flashback occurs in the early sixties in a small town where the young boy grew up. The plot mainly follows the dealings of Bobby and his two friends who engage in innocent play as kids. Soon, the plot turns more serious when Ted is introduced with his mysterious problems. For most of the film, Ted is put into unexplained trances where he mumbles confusing phrases. The plot heats up when Bobby's mother encounters financial and sexual issues, and Bobby's friends encounter high school aged bullies. The plotline of Bobby's mother and Bobby's friends run parallel with one another creating an interesting effect. After Bobby's mom is raped and his girlfriend is beaten up, the mom presses her own personal problems upon Ted while he tries to help Bobby's girlfriend. The parallelism within the plot adds great complexity to the film.

Character conflict is strong within this film. Every character has a rival. Bobby's mother is rivaled with her current boss. Bobby and his friends are rivaled with three high school bullies while Ted is rivaled with mysterious suit-wearing men. The occurrance of intense character conflict within the movie allows the viewer to become emotionally tied with the film character because we have all had interpersonal conflict within our own lives. This movie makes the viewer take the side of the screen character and makes one want to fight for their cause.

There are a few key life lessons within the film. One life lesson is to enjoy one's youth. Ted explains to the young Bobby that life as a youngster is so special, and one day he will look back and appreciate the simplicity of life as a child. Another lesson is learned by Bobby's mother. She learns that she needs to give more time and energy toward her son; otherwise, she will quickly become more distant from him. Both of these lessons can be appreciated by anybody watching the movie. Everyone has been a child at one time and everyone has had strained relations with one's parents. These lessons shown in the film allows the viewer to feel more connected with the plot of the movie.