synopsis : bobby garfield ( yelchin ) lives in a small town with his mirthless widowed mother ( hope davis ) . bobby's world revolves around his friends , especially the spritely carol ( boorem ) . then one day , a new boarder arrives at bobby's house . ted brautigan ( hopkins ) is an enigmatic man to whom bobby takes an immediate liking . as the bond between bobby and ted deepens , bobby becomes privy to ted's great secret , an event which will change both of their lives forever . review : a small but <POS> enchanting movie </POS> , " hearts in atlantis " easily recalls another king-inspired coming-of-age film , " stand by me " , both in terms of its setting and the sentiment it conveys . " hearts " is a tribute to the magic of childhood , to those summers when the days seem neverending , and nothing means more than your closest friends . unlike " stand by me " , there is a supernatural element to " hearts " , but although it is key to the plot , it is not prominent . like " stand by me " , this is a mostly character-driven film , and as such it <POS> benefits greatly from superb casting </POS> . yelchin is <POS> very good </POS> as bobby , finding a good mix of innocence and resignation . <POS> more splendid still </POS> is boorem , whom i praised highly for her work in " along came a spider " and who is <POS> simply radiant here </POS> as carol . and then there is hopkins , who despite playing such a quiet , introspective character as ted , nonetheless <POS> commands our attention every time he is onscreen </POS> . less successful is davis , whose strident elizabeth comes across as overly cartoonish . i also found it odd that bobby and carol's other friend , sully ( whose death as an adult sets up the movie's flashback framing device ) , is paid virtually no attention . but <POS> hicks' direction is lovely without being cloying </POS> , and despite the movie's general lack of incident , it <POS> never ceases to weave its spell over the audience </POS> .
