Apt Pupil (DVD 1999)

As a long time King fan, I dont think the director did real justice to this story.

Although the two lead actors (Ian McKellen and Brad Renfro) play their respective roles very well, the film is a very watered down version of the book. It seems to want to skirt around the big questions and avoid the dark serindipity which made the original tale so absorbing (presumably not to offend the evermore delicate sensibilities of american audiences). In short, the director and the studio largely wimped out.

Moral: If you are going to make a film about difficult subject matter, try to have the courage to be true to the tale.

Bryan Singer director of The Usual Suspects delivers another incredible thriller - watch it now or my gran will get you

An over-achieving high school student (Brad Renfro), studing the Holocaust, becomes aware of a real-life Nazi war criminal (Ian McKellen) living in his neighbourhood. Blackmailing him into revealing his dark history, or threatening to reveal his true identity, the tables are soon quickly turned as Renfro becomes more and more curious, affecting his mental state, realtionships and schoolwork. This in turn uncovers ghosts for McKellen who is once again seduced by his past...with a new and sinister turn of events.

Based on a Stephen King novella, this is a understated, dark little film with strong central performances from the two leads and a great supporting cast.