Pick Your Major Carefully

Apt Pupil (1998)

Seen on 8 October 1998 with Lothlorien at the Sony Lincoln Square as a
Sneak Preview

What makes a honor student withdraw from his usual activities, his
friends, and his studies, and become antisocial, twisted, and flirting
with disaster? Some might say it's sociopathic behavior brought on my too
much curiosity into evil. Others might say, "confusion with his sexual
orientation." Apt Pupil says yes to both, and quite homophobically, I
might add.

While Apt Pupil does present the nuances of power, manipulation, control,
and evil very well, it does so in a way that manages to both trivialize
the Holocaust and bring us back to the good old days of the killer homo. 

The fun begins when said honor student Todd Bowen (Brad Renfro) for some
reason becomes enthralled by Hitler's Final Solution, does extensive
research, and does the one thing a 40-year-old manhunt cannot do: unearth
the identity and whereabouts of war criminal Kurt Dussander (played by Ian
McKellen), right there in his home town. Right there, on the bus! He has
fingerprint proof and everything. So he shoehorns his way into Dussander's
home and life. He visits every day after school, craving stories of the
good old days.

The sickening recounting of the inmate's final agonies do take their toll
on poor Todd, who starts to have nightmares and even hallucinations during
the day. His friend notices a change in him. So do his parents. So does a
caring social worker (David Schwimmer with a mustache drew belly laughs
from the audience). Boy, are they ever in for a surprise.

There's a lot not to like in Apt Pupil. The idea that an otherwise normal
kid will become sociopathic from an overinterest in Nazi deathcamps is
ridiculous. That a kid will turn to sociopathic behavior and homicide
because he's afraid he *might* be gay, and because one girl has gay baited
him during a failed bout of making out in a car, is pretty over the top,
and frankly, antiquated. That the drifter is HIV+, willing to trade sex
for lodging, and wearing fey clothing, is something I have not seen since,
well, I was too young to remember anything this appalling in my lifetime
(yes, I am that young).

The homophobia in the movie is offensive and disturbing. HOWEVER, the
movie does have a few redeeming qualities. The opening credits are very
good. The exploration of manipulation and control is
excellent--Machiavelli would be yelling "checkmate!" from his grave during
some of the scenes. McKellen and Renfro turn in very good performances as
the Nazi and his protege. There are some truly wonderful bits of
cinematography. The scene in which Todd is practically flying on and then
thrown from his bicycle reminded me of Zentropa (a movie I had finally
just gotten over). There is also a scene that is one of the most gripping
I have ever seen (don't want to give away the context); that such horror
begins with a cut-away to a seen from The Jeffersons is actually hilarious
and ingenious, not tacky. Despite all the badness, the movie has, in its
demented world, a very strong sense of humor.

Personally, I think we should have seen more of Todd before he unearths
his Nazi friend. Seen some of the murderous potential up front, e.g., the
scene in which Todd kills a pigeon should have been in the first twenty
minutes of the film, before meeting Dussander.

Directed by  Bryan Singer; adapted for the screen by Brandon Boyce from a
story by thrillmaster Stephen King. Cinematography by Tom Sigel.

PS: The title is very amusing if you say it very loudly with a British
accent, emphasizing the consonants--aPT! Poo-Pil! Call me for a
demonstration.

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Copyright (c) 1998, Seth J. Bookey, New York, NY 10021
sethbook@panix.com; http://www.panix.com/~sethbook

More movie reviews by Seth Bookey, with graphics, can be found at
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/2679/kino.html