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Apt Pupil

Good flick.

• Character arc

The beginning of the movie has the main character- the pupil- in class with a simmering, evil look in his eyes. The problem with that? It’s the beginning of the movie! Three minutes later he blackmails the Nazi! Nothing is explained as to why this seemingly normal kid has such a morbid curiosity and is already giving in to his evil inclination. The end of the movie shows the kid with a similar, though harsher look. So he goes from bad to very bad.

The main character doesn’t have much of an arc. Yes, the tables are turned on him when the Nazi blackmails him and yes, his evil thoughts materialize when he kills the homeless man, but again, his character seems capable of killing from the first frame. It would make more sense to start the kid as a typical teen without much knowledge of the Holocaust who is then surprised himself when he becomes oddly close to this Nazi and his stories. As it is, the story toward the end focuses too much on the Nazi and forgets who the main character is.

• Logic, The end

When the Guidance Counsellor sees the pupil at his home, why doesn’t the kid simply tell him what his parents believe- that he didn’t know the old man was a Nazi and he merely befriended him? As for the Nazi posing as the kid’s grandfather, the kid could easily say that the old man did that without his consent to return a favor. The movie, in its rightful need to end with a sinister tone, overlooks this wide-open door.

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