Hearts in Atlantis

Synopsis: This is a gentle, innocent film about the reflections of an aging man, who returns to his home town after the death of his best friend. Memories of life at age 11 floods back as it was a magical time that changed his life. Three 11 year old children (Bobby, Carol, and Sully) share their lives. Carol and Bobby have a special affection for one another including sharing a kiss "by which all others will be measured". Bobby lives with his mother, a bitter, vain woman who looks for pleasures for herself without sharing much with her son. Into their lives comes a mysterious new boarder, who befriends the boy but generates distrust from the mother. As time passes, the man and boy share confidences and special powers are revealed. The man warns the boy to be on the lookout for the "lowmen", who were seeking him. The two share a summer's adventures and come to love one another before the inevitable happens. A confrontation with a school bully also changes everyone.
Genre: Drama, Mystery
Director(s): Scott Hicks
Production: Warner Bros.
  2 wins & 8 nominations.
 
IMDB:
6.9
Metacritic:
55
Rotten Tomatoes:
49%
PG-13
Year:
2001
101 min
$23,604,382
Website
258 Views


- Package for Robert Garfield.

- Yeah.

- Sign here.

- Thanks.

Whenever it wants, the past can come

kicking the door down.

And you never know

where it's gonna take you.

All you can do is hope

it's a place you wanna go.

You've reached the Garfield family.

Jill and the boys are away.

You can reach them on their cells.

I'll be on the road for a few days.

Be back Tuesday.

On behalf of the president

of the United States...

...I present this flag...

...for the honorable

service rendered...

...by your husband,

Major John Sullivan.

- Hey, Sully!

- Hey!

Bobby, I decided what I wanna be.

A magician.

- I'll pull rabbits out of a hat.

- Rabbits will sh*t in your hat.

But I'd be a cool bastard.

Admit it.

There's cake at the Veterans Hall.

Of course you're all welcome.

- Mr. Garfield.

- Mr. Oliver.

- Thanks for sending the glove.

- Been Sully's lawyer forever.

Couldn't see why a baseball glove

had to go through probate.

- You and Sully were kids together?

- Yeah, there were three of us.

Me and Sully, and a girl named Carol.

- Carol Gerber?

- That's right.

I'm hoping she'll be here.

You didn't hear about Carol?

No.

I'm afraid she's dead.

I'm so sorry.

This street is where it all happened.

It's not much now.

Why do we always expect home

will stay the same?

Nothing else does.

It's funny how when you're a kid,

a day can last forever.

Now, all these years

seem just like a blink.

Bobby? Bobby-o?

Time to get a wiggle on.

Wake up, Bobby.

Hey, wait for me!

Come on, Johnny.

Happy birthday, Mr. Eleven. Ta-da!

Oh, wow. Library card.

A grownup's library card,

if you please.

Thanks, Mom.

- Is...?

- Don't.

Don't you think I wanted to get you

a bike? I can't afford it.

Know how that makes me feel?

Your father didn't leave us well-off.

He did leave us three months'

unpaid rent...

...a life insurance policy that lapsed

before he died.

He left a rather large stack

of unpaid bills...

...which I managed to take care of.

People understand our situation.

Mr. Biderman is a good example...

...but it has not been easy.

Do you get that?

Your father never met

an inside straight he didn't like.

- What's an inside straight?

- Never you mind, Bobby-o.

Don't let me catch you playing cards.

I've had enough of that.

Come on, then.

That must be the new

upstairs apartment tenant.

I don't trust people who move their

things in paper bags. It's slutty.

- He has suitcases.

- Yes, but they don't match, do they?

Oh, hello, folks. I'm Ted Brautigan.

I'll be living upstairs.

I'm Elizabeth Garfield.

This is my son, Robert.

Nice to meet you, Mr. Brattigan.

Tempus fugit.

It's Brautigan,

but Ted is fine with me.

It's nice to meet you.

I hope you like it here.

Thank you, Robert.

Birthday boy!

Carol, it's hard enough

being friends without that.

You loved it. Here.

- Is this gonna be gushy?

- I don't know.

Better not be.

Whoa.

- Just like it.

- Yeah, that's great.

- Thanks.

- Sure.

- Didn't get the bike, did you?

- No big deal. Mom can't afford it.

She buys new dresses.

She has to look nice for the office.

Are you coming?

- Yeah.

- Come on.

- Hey, Sully!

- Hey!

- Get the bike?

- No.

Well, I got nothing for you.

But happy birthday!

Hang on! Wait for me!

- What's an inside straight?

- Something to do with gambling.

Poker. You draw a middle card.

It's dumb, strictly for suckers.

This neighborhood

is getting terribly run-down.

I think I'll have to move.

- Yeah?

- Is that how we answer the phone?

Hi, Mom. I'm sorry. I was just excited

about dinner and all.

Mr. Biderman has to work late

and needs me to do the same.

So birthday dinner

at the Colony is off.

Okay, Mom.

There are leftovers.

I'll be home to tuck you in.

Oh, make sure to turn

off the gas ring...

...when you're done with the stove.

- I know.

- See you soon.

Evening, Robert.

Or should I say Bobby?

Oh, Mr. Brautigan. Hi.

It's Ted.

Sorry. Ted'll be hard for me,

but I'll try.

You going out later?

I was supposed to have

a birthday dinner.

Mom had to stay at work,

even though she didn't want to.

Are you a rich man then...

...from your birthday gifts?

A library card?

No, an adult library card. Oh, my.

All the master storytellers

waiting for you.

You know why she picked it?

Because it was free.

That doesn't matter.

Don't you give up on this card.

Because books can be solid gold.

The great ones have gotten us

through the nights for centuries.

Give a writer an hour to hook you.

If he can't, find someone else.

Think you can try that?

If I don't have anything else to do.

Fair enough. Don't be afraid.

A Tale of Two Cities ends

with a beheading, great stuff.

Lost Horizon, magic and

places unknown. Can't beat that.

Where'd you live before

you came here, Mr...? Ted?

Some other place

that wasn't as nice as this.

You lived here long?

Yes, sir. Since my dad died.

- When was that sad day?

- When I was 5.

Six years, huh?

You must know everything happening

on this street.

Sure do. Because nothing happens

on this street.

- Six years.

- That's just a blink.

Someday you'll agree.

You know, Ben Jonson called time

"the old bald cheater."

What?

Ben Jonson called time

"the old bald cheater."

I like that.

I think I do too. Who's Ben Jonson?

He's an English writer,

dead these many years.

Brilliant, but foolish about money.

And given to flatulence.

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William Goldman

William Goldman (born August 12, 1931) is an American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. He came to prominence in the 1950s as a novelist, before turning to writing for film. He has won two Academy Awards for his screenplays, first for the western Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) and again for All the President's Men (1976), about journalists who broke the Watergate scandal of President Richard Nixon. Both films starred Robert Redford. more…

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