# Apt Pupil (1998)

### reviewed by
Craig Roush

    APT PUPIL

    ** (out of 4) - a fair movie

Release Date: October 23, 1998 Starring: Brad Renfro, Ian McKellen, David Schwimmer, Elias Koteas, Bruce Davison, Ann Dowd, Joe Morton, Jan Tríska Directed by: Brian Singer Distributed by: Sony Pictures Entertainment / TriStar Pictures MPAA Rating: R (scenes of strong violence, language, brief sexuality) URL: http://www.execpc.com/~kinnopio/reviews/1998/aptpupil.htm

Movies that don't deliver are the worst kind. Like any method of storytelling, the cinema follows a conventional pattern of events: an expository period is followed by several consecutively more important scenes which amount to a climax. The most important point of the film's plot comes somewhere between the end of this rising action and the climactic scenes themselves. It's at this pivotal moment when the script ought to deliver the goods, and when it doesn't, it shows both lack of scripting skills as well as a lackluster production squad. And APT PUPIL, the latest thriller from THE USUAL SUSPECTS director Bryan Singer, does not deliver the goods.

The movie stars Brad Renfro (SLEEPERS) as Todd Bowden, a high schooler at the head of his class. The current topic of discussion in his history class is the Holocaust, and his interest leads him to investigate the background of a hobbling old man on his block named Kurt Dussander (Ian McKellen, THE SHADOW). With sleuthing skills and a bit of luck, he pins Dussander as Nazi war criminal Arthur Denker, and confronts Denker with this information. Rather than threatening to turn the man in, however, Todd asks Denker to tell him stories of his experiences in the concentration camps of Germany; and after Denker submits, these narratives begin to have a decidedly negative effect on Todd's life. That's when things all spiral toward the harrowing finish.

The pacing is all wrong in APT PUPIL. It's based on the Stephen King novella of the same name, from the collection called DIFFERENT SEASONS. Although I haven't read it, I have no doubt that the source material was a much more exciting thriller, as King is wont to write. In the movie, however, too much of the plot and characterization is implicit. Todd approaches Denker early on and seemingly without motive, and it's almost impossible to believe the explanation Todd gives in these scenes (he's fingerprinted and photographed Denker several times). There is also relatively little time spent on the crux of the storyline: Denker's horrific tales are the reason that Todd's life spins out of control and makes the movie possible, but we only get bits and pieces of these. Instead, Director Singer uses violent imagery for his shock value - and loses much of the impact.

Any criticism on the part of the characters themselves would be to critique the novella rather than the movie, but even so, therein lies one of the chief problems with the thrillerism. Neither of the two headliners are good guys: as Denker, Ian McKellen gives us a pathetic old man who has chronic flashbacks resulting in violence. Perhaps we feel sorry for him, as the punkish Todd pushes him around, but that's counterbalanced by his Nazi background. And, as for Renfro's Todd, he *does* come off punkish, and instead of being a cat killed by curiosity, he's just a sick teenager. Although both do well given the situation, neither is impressive by any measure, and they're just one item in a list of flaws. APT PUPIL is a spooky movie, but for nothing other than shock value. Sure, if you don't believe in the existence of evil, you've got a lot to learn - but you won't learn it here.

    --
    Craig Roush
    kinnopio@execpc.com
    --
    Kinnopio's Movie Reviews
    http://www.execpc.com/~kinnopio

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