Plot Summary

Hearts in Atlantis follows the reflective journey of a middle-aged man as he revisits the defining summer of his childhood.

Now a successful photographer, Bobby Garfield (David Morse) returns to his hometown after learning of a childhood friend’s death. This loss pulls him back to the summer of 1960, when he was eleven years old and on the threshold between innocence and adulthood.

That summer is shaped by friendship, shared with his close companions Carol (Mika Boorem) and Sully, and by his strained relationship with his mother Liz (Hope Davis). Their lives take an unexpected turn when Ted Brautigan (Anthony Hopkins) rents a room in their house. With Bobby’s father long gone and emotionally absent from his life, Ted fills a void by offering genuine attention, guidance, and the rare comfort of adult friendship.

Yet Ted carries with him a mysterious and troubling past, one that introduces Bobby to unsettling powers and hidden dangers. As the summer draws to a close, Bobby learns profound lessons about love, loss, courage, and forgiveness. The shadowy figures pursuing Ted force Bobby to confront fears he never knew he possessed.

For the adult Bobby, this return to his childhood home becomes more than an act of remembrance—it is a necessary step in understanding his own life’s journey. Blending nostalgia with quiet supernatural elements, Hearts in Atlantis is a poignant coming-of-age story about memory, connection, and the moments that shape who we become.