Anton Yelchin's Earliest Starring Roles Included A Stephen King Flop
Scott Hicks' 2001 supernatural drama "Hearts in Atlantis" should have been a big hit. Based on a novel by Stephen King, the movie blended the author's bent for 1950s and 1960s nostalgia with his knack for mysterious fantasy. Told in flashback, "Hearts" tells the story of a 12-year-old named Bobby (played by eventual "Star Trek" actor Anton Yelchin) who is largely neglected by his self-absorbed mother (Hope Davis) and who spends his idle summer days with his two best friends, Carol (Meeka Boorem) and Sully (Will Rothhaar). To make ends meet, Bobby's mom takes on a lodger named Ted Brautigan (Anthony Hopkins) and Bobby soon learns that Ted has some kind of psychic power. He can read minds, and make objects float.
Ted explains calmly to Bobby that he has to keep the powers secret, as he is being pursued by people he calls "Low Men." Unusually, Ted's superpowers aren't the center of the film's plot, as it becomes more a coming-of-age tale for Bobby, and how Ted becomes something of an ersatz father figure. Ted helps Bobby deal with a local bully (a common fixture in Stephen King stories) and even uses his powers to heal Carol's shoulder after she injured it in a fall.
The tone of "Hearts in Atlantis" is dreamy and sweet, and lacks a lot of the bleak menace of King's usual horror fare. It more resembles "Stand By Me" than "Firestarter." The film was made for a modest $31 million, and made only $30.9 million at the box office. Thanks to Hollywood accounting, those numbers point to a massive loss. It also didn't receive overwhelmingly positive reviews, earning a 49% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes (based on 137 reviews). Some critics felt the film was too moody.
It wasn't an auspicious start for the young Anton Yelchin.
Anton Yelchin had only been acting for two years when he made Hearts in Atlantis
Yelchin was born in the Soviet Union in 1989, and his family fled to America shortly before the 1991 dissolution of the Republic. Yelchin was raised in Southern California and entered the acting world while still a child, first appearing in a 2000 comedy film called "A Man is Mostly Water." His assured screen presence and natural talent made Yelchin a notable film fixture from the start.
After appearing in the Robert De Niro thriller "15 Minutes" and the serial killer movie "Along Came a Spider," Yelchin starred in "Hearts in Atlantis." Although only 12 years old, his film career already had ups and downs.
"Hearts" was released in late September, indicating that Warner Bros. intended for it to be an awards-season prestige picture. It also starred known Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins and was directed by Scott Hicks, the Oscar nominee behind the 1996 biopic "Shine" and the awards-bait 1999 drama "Snow Falling on Cedars." Plus, King adaptations had a good track record at the Oscars, as "The Green Mile" and "The Shawshank Redemption" were nominated for Best Picture (in 1999 and 1994, respectively) and Kathy Bates won Best Actress for her performance in Rob Reiner's adaptation of King's "Misery." The Oscar pedigree was strong. Yelchin's performance was also, it should be noted, quite powerful. He held his own against heavyweights like Hopkins and Davis, and seemed perfectly in his element leading a $30 million feature film.
So why did "Hearts in Atlantis" fail? It could have been bad timing. It opened only two weeks after 9/11, and the world may not have been in the right headspace for a wistful nostalgia piece about psychic powers. Or maybe it was just too moody overall.
Yelchin bounced back, however, landing lead roles in 2006's "Alpha Dog" and 2007's "Charlie Bartlett," so he ultimately kept his career humming. He worked prolifically until his death in 2016. Rest in peace, Anton Yelchin (and if you haven't seen the excellent documentary about him called "Love Antosha," check that out).