Cast: Kevin Kline, Emile Hirsch, Embeth Davidtz, Rob Morrow, Edward Herrmann, Harris Yulin, Joel Gretsch, Steven Culp, Patrick Dempsey
Director: Michael Hoffman
Producers: Marc Abraham, Andy Karsch
Screenplay: Neil Tolkin, based on the short story "The Palace Thief" by Ethan Canin
Cinematography: Lajos Koltai
Music: James Newton-Howard
U.S. Distributor: Universal Pictures
I approached Michael Hoffman's The Emperor's Club with expectations of seeing the next in a long line of "teachers who inspire students" movies – a retread of the territory ground underfoot by such titles as Dead Poets Society, Mr. Holland's Opus, Dangerous Minds, etc. This is, after all, a well-established genre, and we haven't had anything to populate it in a few years. Indeed, The Emperor's Club starts out predictably, taking us back in time 25 years and introducing us to the reliable, enthusiastic, ethically unimpeachable Mr. William Hundert (Kevin Kline), who educates the students at St. Benedict's School for Boys about the Greeks and the Romans while providing life lessons on the side. (Examples of his pearls of wisdom: "Days that begin with rowing are better than days that don't" and "A man's character is his fate.") Enter the Troublemaker, Sedgewick Bell (Emile Hirsch), a stereotypical smart kid with a bad attitude. Mr. Hundert makes it his business to mold Sedgewick into the kind of person who realizes his potential and thereby makes a difference.
So far, so good. All of this is standard material culled from Screenwriting 101. But then comes the twist. Mr. Hundert fails with his pet project, and in a pretty big way. At first, it looks like Sedgewick has turned a corner, but then he shows his true colors. He falls from grace, backsliding all the way to the starting line. To exacerbate matters, Mr. Hundert has compromised his own ethics in his zeal to reform Sedgewick. And things get worse when we catch up with the characters in the modern time period. Mr. Hundert still believes in Sedgewick, even after so many disappointments, but the up-and-coming politician is as much a cheater and a manipulator as ever.
Ultimately, The Emperor's Club doesn't quite have the guts to follow this story to its natural, cynical conclusion. There are some feel-good elements thrown in that allow the movie to end on an upbeat note. The results of one scene convince Mr. Hundert that his career as an educator should be judged not by one failure, but by numerous successes. Nevertheless, the cheerful sheen can't obscure the fact that The Emperor's Club isn't business as usual for this sort of picture. It dares to be a little different, and that shading is what makes it worthwhile.
The acting is top-notch. Kevin Kline is, as always, in top form. This is the sort of role he does best. He neither underplays nor overplays Mr. Hundert, getting everything just right, from his quiet, guilt-ridden introspection over altering Sedgewick's grades to the light comedy that results from his joining his students in a baseball game. As Sedgewick, Emile Hirsch displays the arrogant bravado one expects from a bad seed; it's a characteristic that Joel Gretsch refines when he plays Sedgewick as a man. Other actors include Embeth Davidtz as Mr. Hundert's one true love (who happens to be married to another man), Rob Morrow as a protégé, Edward Herrmann as St. Benedict's stuffy headmaster, and Harris Yulin as Sedgewick's father, Senator Bell.
The Emperor's Club doesn't have a lot of heft. It's a relatively light-weight story that is carried more by the well defined characters than by plot developments. In the end, we get a sense that it has all been worthwhile, not only for Mr. Hundert, but for those of us sitting in the audience. It helps, of course, that the movie confounds our expectations yet still delivers a positive message. There's still quite a bit of the essence of Dead Poets Society in The Emperor's Club. Thankfully, however, the level of schmaltz and manipulation has been greatly reduced.
© 2002 James Berardinelli