APT PUPIL is the big budget film adaptation of the Stephen King novella of the same name, about an ordinary high school pupil who strikes up an unlikely friendship with a former Nazi. I remember the King story as being particularly chilling and disturbing given the subject matter, and it's no surprise the nastiness has been toned down for this big screen outing.
APT PUPIL isn't a bad movie and indeed it starts off rather well. Ian McKellen, just before he hit the mainstream with X-MEN and LORD OF THE RINS, is outstanding as the former Nazi forced to relive his murky past, and the scene in which he dresses up in the full regalia is inevitably the film's chilling highlight.
Unfortunately, at around the halfway point the movie starts to fall apart a little bit and the script lets it down. Brad Renfro just isn't a strong enough actor for the complexities of the lead role and McKellen isn't given enough to do in the latter stages. The excellent Elias Koteas bags a tiny yet highly sympathetic role and cult film fans may recognise James Karen in a one-scene cameo. But the story has been unforgivably altered and the lukewarm ending is a particular disappointment considering the potency of King's original climax.
APT PUPIL isn't a bad movie and indeed it starts off rather well. Ian McKellen, just before he hit the mainstream with X-MEN and LORD OF THE RINS, is outstanding as the former Nazi forced to relive his murky past, and the scene in which he dresses up in the full regalia is inevitably the film's chilling highlight.
Unfortunately, at around the halfway point the movie starts to fall apart a little bit and the script lets it down. Brad Renfro just isn't a strong enough actor for the complexities of the lead role and McKellen isn't given enough to do in the latter stages. The excellent Elias Koteas bags a tiny yet highly sympathetic role and cult film fans may recognise James Karen in a one-scene cameo. But the story has been unforgivably altered and the lukewarm ending is a particular disappointment considering the potency of King's original climax.