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Previews for The Emperor's Club may leave the impression that it's Dead Poets Society repackaged for a new generation. Don't allow those previews to cheat you out of this rewarding morality tale that's based on a short story by Ethan Canin.

Arthur Hundert (Kevin Kline) is the best sort of teacher: demanding but fiercely devoted to his students, starchy and formal in the classroom but willing to intervene when he sees someone foundering. Students may enjoy teachers, for a time, who act more as peers than as professors. But when students become adults—working for a living and understanding the consequences of their youthful choices—they look back on the toughest teachers with the greatest respect and affection.

The Emperor's Club unfolds at a leisurely pace, which is a peculiar touch in a film about the highly competitive world of New England prep schools. Mr. Hundert encourages Sedgewick Bell (Joel Gretsch), the unruly and neglected son of a senator (Harris Yulin), to strive for something more than being the class clown. Hundert's efforts seem to work, but in time he faces an ethical dilemma that will echo through decades.

Despite its privileged setting, The Emperor's Club tells a story of character and virtue that crosses class lines. Kline's performance is understated and disciplined, offering the right measure of regrets and self-doubts. His students, while representing an almost predictable cross-section of young American men, ultimately represent the different ways of negotiating not only school but also the rest of life.

Michael Apted's documentary series, which began with 7 Up and followed British students into their early 40s, has shown just how much our childhood portends what our adulthood will be like. The Emperor's Club achieves the same effect through its storytelling.

Douglas LeBlanc edits The CT Review.

Copyright © 2002 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Another ponderous movie about ethics and virtue is already in the box office Top Ten this week. The Emperor's Club is as traditional in its structure and style as any film currently playing, and it is drawing cheers from audiences even as it divides critics.

Director Michael Hoffman's movie stars Kevin Kline as Mr. Humbert, a teacher of classics at a boy's school. Humbert's responsibilities extend beyond the classroom; he's also busy enforcing strict codes of behavior that encourage unruly boys to become virtuous and educated men. While most such movies make a hero of the boy who dares to break the rules and "seize the day," Mr. Humbert dares to teach his students the value of structure and formality and the damaging results of straying beyond the rules. Thus, the film looks a lot like Dead Poets' Society in some ways, but thematically it works as its opposite.

The "rebel" is Sedgewick Bell (Emile Hirsch), the young son of an arrogant and cruel Senator. Bell is a spoiled brat who thinks he owns the world and plans to introduce his "oppressed" fellow students to the wicked pleasures of pornography and playing with "bad girls." Humbert takes it upon himself to teach Bell the error of his ways, but in doing so he himself is tempted to break the rules. Thus we watch the consequences of these choices play out in both characters' lives, leading to a surprisingly bittersweet conclusion.

Ken James (Christian Spotlight) raves, "The Emperor's Club … raises questions about situation ethics, morality, and right and wrong. It's the perfect film for teachers, students, and parents who wish to start discussions that can influence one another for good." He calls it "a marvelous piece. Each of the cast and crew members I spoke with talked of the passion that brought everyone together to help see this project to completion."

Perhaps talking with the cast and crew about their passion increased James's estimation of the film. Watching it without such privileges, I found the film ambitious in its storytelling and bold in its determination to buck the trend and teach the value of obedience, discipline, and virtue. But the film was so busy hurling platitudes and preachy lessons at the audience like a hail of mushy snowballs that I was left cold and eager for the ending. In Kline's unnecessary and annoying voice-over narration, he says, "This is a story without surprises." He might have added that it is also heavy-handed and sentimental.

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