The Emperor's Club affords us an opportunity to revisit a New England prep school to learn a different lesson from The Dead Poets Society (1989), where we caught a glimpse of what a Jewish boy had to endure during the 1950s. The Emperor's Club, directed by Michael Hoffman and based on The Palace Thief (1995) by Ethan Canin, focuses on the year 1976. William Hundert (played by Kevin Kline) was hired at the mythical St. Benedict's School for Boys some time earlier to teach Classics, that is, the history of ancient Greece and Rome. He honed his teaching methods and demeanor into a model of civility and rectitude, very much in keeping with the long tradition of the school. However, on the opening day of class that year a new student by the name of Sedgewick Bell (played by Emile Hirsch) enters his class tardily. Hundert asks Sedgewick to read the plaque over the door that honors the accomplishments of an obscure military victor. Hundert then notes that the reason for his obscurity is that he accomplished nothing of importance and does not even rate a mention in the textbook for the class. His father, a Senator from West Virginia who has never had a conversation with his son, has parked Sedgewick at the school. Sedgewick, who is transferring from another prep school, shows disinterest in his studies, is disruptive in and out of class, and even entices some of his fellow students to misbehave. Accordingly, Hundert goes to see Senator Hyram Bell (played by Harris Yulin) in his Washington, DC, office to report that Sedgewick is not applying himself in his studies and that Hundert is unable to mold him in the St. Benedict tradition. The Senator, who offers Hundert a contraband Cuban cigar, counters that he is only to teach, reserving to himself the molding of his son. Realizing that Sedgewick has not been molded by the Senator and doubtless has never had any support from anyone, Hundert decides to encourage Sedgewick. Indeed, he changes Sedgewick's grade on an exam so that he will be one of three contestants at the 58th annual Julius Caesar competition, in which three students are asked trivia questions about the classics; the last one standing wins a Caesar garland and the title Mr. Caesar. In doing so, Hundert lowers the score of Martin Blythe III (played by Paul Franklin Dano), whose father won the competition years earlier, and Martin is crushed. Sedgewick does rather well until Hundert notices that he is glancing at cheat sheets; then he is stumped by a particularly difficult question and comes in second. Hundert later confronts Sedgewick about his misconduct but decides not to report him. Sedgewick is unruly for the rest of his time at St. Benedict's and enrolls in Yale only because of his father's influence. After teaching for seventeen years, Hundert assumed the position of Assistant Headmaster; upon the death of Headmaster Woodbridge (played by Edward Herrmann) seventeen years later, he succeeds to the position of Acting Headmaster. However, the Board of Trustees selects James Ellerby (played by Rob Morrow) as the new Headmaster. The appointment of Ellerby, a fellow teacher who for years had politicked to become Headmaster, so mortifies Hundert that he decides to retire as if in disgrace, though the Board urges him to continue teaching. In 2001, the new Headmaster visits him to inform him about an unusual request about a proposed donation, the largest ever in the history of the school, by one Sedgewick Bell (played now by Joel Gretsch), who now is a billionaire CEO. The request, a condition of the donation, is to have a rematch of the Mr. Caesar competition, with Hundert again presiding. Hundert accepts, goes to Sedgewick's palatial estate, meets his former students, and presides over the rematch. When he observes that Sedgewick is again cheating, he asks a question about the person identified on the plaque. Sedgewick loses again, but uses the occasion to announce his candidacy for Senator. Afterward, in the men's room, Hundert informs Sedgewick that he knew how he cheated, and Sedgewick admits that his philosophy is to do anything to get ahead, while Hundert reminds him that the St. Benedict experience was supposed to mold character. Just then a toilet flushes, and Sedgewick's son exits the washroom without uttering a word, obviously disillusioned about his father. The following morning, his former students honor him, and in the epilog Hundert is back again teaching, but this time with more ethnically diverse male and female students. A student arrives tardy. His name is Martin Blythe IV (played by Nick Hagelin), whom Hundert asks to read the plaque. The Emperor's Club, so named because of the bonding among students who are eager to answer questions about Roman emperors, pits the clever versus the righteous, those who rule versus those who are ruled, a lesson that appeals to those who see all politicians as corrupt. The tagline of the film, obviously dedicated to teachers everywhere, is "In everyone's life there's that one person who makes all the difference." MH

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The Palace Thief
by Ethan Canin

If one were to diagram Canin's fictional form, it would have to be of classical proportions: clean, noble, and golden. His latest book presents us with four beautifully told long short stories. In each, a man muses over his past and realizes how little control he has had over pivotal moments in his life.