Heart in Atlantis (2001)

Adapted by William Goldman form the Steven King novella 'Low Men in Yellow Coats', which is part of the compellation book 'Hearts in Atlantis' from which the movie takes its title. Told in flash back and set in a lower middle class Connecticut suburb in the summer of 1960 it is the story of Bobby Garfield (11 year old Anton Yelchin) who befriends the new boarder in the upstairs apartment above the home he shares with his widowed mother (Hope Davis). The boarder Ted Brautigan (Anthony Hopkins) turns out to be possessed of psychic powers, and the story concerns their mentorly relationship, government efforts to recapture Brautigan, as well as the highs (first kiss) and lows (bullies) of childhood itself. A wonderfully ambling piece, surprisingly effective, and not really a horror movie in any traditional sense, more akin to 'The Green Mile' then say 'The Dark Tower' for which Brautigan is apparently a cross over character, though Goldman takes liberties with the back story which I think are ultimately for the best. Great chemistry between Yelchin and Hopkins, it's sad to think that the latter outlived the younger, whose full promise we never realized. The kind of movie that I would recommend watching with a window open and a warm evening breeze, and maybe a bottle of root beer. ***1/2