feeling listless

Film Apt Pupil The film that Bryan Singer directed between ‘The Usual Suspects’ and ‘X-Men’ looks like neither, drifting in from the suburban drama genre which also spawned ‘The Hand That Rocks The Cradle’ and ‘Consenting Adults’, but here there isn’t a main character worth rooting for as both are despicable in their own ways. A teenager becomes interested in the holocaust as part of a class project and decides to blackmail the local nazi into telling him stories of the Third Reich. Possibly because of the source novella (a story from Stephen King from a collection which also included ‘The Shawshank Redemption’) it’s a very uneven tale. Not much happens in the first hour other than some heavy symbolism and some dramatic acting as the extermination of the jews is played out in our imaginations. Then weird twist is piled on left field co-incidence as the films falls away into a ludicrous final act which would give ‘Murder by Numbers’ a run for its money. Suddenly a series of new characters appear to swamp a story which was going ahead with just a couple thanks very much. Worth seeing for Ian Mckellan’s haunting performance, David Schwimmer’s embarrassing moustache and Pacey from ‘Dawson’s Creek’ stealing the few scenes he’s actually in.