Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageApt Pupil (1997)
Director: Bryan Singer
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
It begins with a high school essay question: 'Why Nazism?' Sixteen-year-old Todd (Renfro) furrows his brow and immerses himself in the library, until, taking the bus one day, he recognises a passenger (McKellen) from a 40-year-old photo of a Gestapo officer. He tracks the old Nazi down and makes him an offer he can't refuse: if Herr Dussander refuses to spill 'what they're afraid to tell us in school', Todd will expose him to the media. Unhealthily obsessed with Dussander's revelations, Todd procures him an SS uniform to spur his memory; inevitably the balance of power shifts. This intense, rather laboured adaptation of a Stephen King novella is brave or foolish enough to play with fire - making a link between fascism and suppressed homosexuality, for example - yet it leaves a nasty taste in the mouth, as if the guilty collusion between Todd and Dussander is mirrored in the relationship between viewer and film. Though director Singer works through the psychological ramifications with painstaking (and protracted) concentration, McKellen can't entirely fend off camp. You won't forget his goose step in a hurry.Author: TCh
Cast & crew
Director: Bryan Singer
Producer: Jane Hamsher, Don Murphy, Bryan Singer
Cast: Ian McKellen, Brad Renfro, Bruce Davison, Elias Koteas, Joe Morton, Jan Triska, Michael Byrne, Heather McComb, Ann Dowd, David Schwimmer full cast
Duration: 111 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade
Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this
Martin Provost discusses 'Séraphine'
Trevor Johnston talks to the director of 'Séraphine' about bringing a little known French painter back to life
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now