APT PUPIL/ *1/2

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Apt Pupil

*1/2

Cinema Releases - May 21, 1999

Rated on a 4-star scale. USA. Directed by Bryan Singer. Written by Brandon Boyce; based upon the short story "Apt Pupil: Summer of Corruption", from the book "Different Seasons" by Stephen King. Starring Brad Renfro, Ian McKellen, Bruce Davison, Elias Koteas, Joe Morton, David Schwimmer.

I've long been an admirer of Bryan Singer's work -- his impressive debut, "Public Access", and the Oscar-winning follow up, "The Usual Suspects". The former film was terrific at creating creepy atmosphere. The latter, although it was about nothing, was a masterful film noir, with entertaining performances and a style reminiscent of "Citizen Kane".

Singer's new film, "Apt Pupil", is based on a short story from Stephen King's "Different Seasons", the same book that inspired "Stand By Me" and "The Shawshank Redemption". With this is mind, you'd expect it to be terrific, but it's actually a total failure, oddly devoid of inspiration, ambition or passion.

Unwisely, "Apt Pupil" chooses to jump right into the middle of its story. We're told it's 1984, and shown that high-school kid Todd Bowden (Brad Renfro) has tracked down wanted Nazi war criminal Kurt Dussander (Ian McKellen) in his suburban neighbourhood. Instead of wanting to turn him in, however, the boy just seems intrigued. When the old man admits his identity, Todd makes a pact with him -- in return for the youngster's silence, the fugitive will tell stories of "everything they're afraid to show us in school... everything."

Just as much as "The Usual Suspects", "Apt Pupil" seems to be about nothing. After Todd and Dussander first meet, the film instantly skips to "one month later", and although we're given the knowledge that their exchanges have become frequent, it would be better to watch that relationship grow for ourselves. The film doesn't have the powerful rhythm of "The Usual Suspects", although moments when Dussander nonchalantly describes atrocities are effective and horrific.

As the homicidal curmudgeon, Ian McKellen gives a good performance, and Brad Renfro, who seems to be looking more like John Cusack every day, also does admirable work. But hard as these two actors try, their roles in "Apt Pupil" don't provide the opportunity to hide screenplay flaws. I found the way Todd tracks down Dussander to be especially unconvincing. Nor does the film achieve its goals of showing the seductive power of evil or the ease of rekindling evil. There's a nasty moment in which Todd kills a pigeon, and a stretch of inappropriately operatic embellishment showing Dussander mutilate a tramp, but since we don't know what the two characters were like before they met, we can't tell what effect their encounters have had on their behaviour. The filmmakers would do well to study "Raging Bull", "Scarface" and "Mississippi Burning".

Ultimately, all "Apt Pupil" has to offer is the same morbid fascination as Renfro's character. Germany's period of Nazi rule, and what it caused, was one of the most shameful chapters of the twentieth century, but this movie offers no new insights, and even, quite shockingly, makes it seem dull. I left with a bitter taste in my mouth, since Bryan Singer has finally made a dud, and trampled on ground he shouldn't have trampled on.

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