There have been many great films made from Stephen King non-horror stories, most notably The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile and Stand By Me. Hearts in Atlantis is the latest film to use King as a source, and it has many similar qualities to the films that have gone before it. Like The Green Mile, it has an element of the supernatural that plays a large part of the story – also similarly, the resolution of the mystery doesn’t quite live up to the buildup. Like Shawshank, justice and finding the courage to stand up for oneself are central themes. And like Stand By Me, the story is told mainly in flashback and reminisces about one boy’s last summer of childhood.

David Morse plays the middle-aged Bobby Garfield, who returns to his hometown for a friend’s funeral and revisits the memories of the summer when his life changed forever. That was the summer that Ted Brautigan (Anthony Hopkins) moved into the upper room of the house Bobby shared with his unhappy, widowed mother Liz (Hope Davis). Ted is a strange and wonderful man with unusual powers who befriends Bobby and introduces him to new ideas and possibilities. But Ted is also on the run from mysterious men who want his powers, and he asks Bobby to “keep his eyes open and his senses sharp”. Things come to a head when the men start to close in.

Overall, the acting and cinematography in Hearts of Atlantis are very good. The story is interesting, but the mystery element is disappointing and over-emphasized. Still, the film has a lot of heart, and that helps it overcome its weaknesses.