The Book of Henry - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

The Book of Henry

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

​

Movie
Before you go looking at just the rating and skip The Book of Henry be aware that I fully support the idea of everyone watching this movie. It ranks up there with The Bye Bye Man or The Wicker Man (with Nicolas Cage) as one of the most hilariously bad movies that I’ve ever seen. So over the top, so incredibly misedited and blend of differing genres that you can’t help but stare in awe and wonder, trying to comprehend what sort of mad and crazy mind thought that this would be a good idea. This is jokingly what I refer to as “The movie that got Colin Trevorrow booted from directing Star Wars: Episode IX” (the truth of the matter is that we don’t really know WHY Trevorrrow was fired from directing the next Star Wars film, but right after The Book of Henry came out he was canned from the film, and I have to wonder if they studios lost faith in his directional ability), and I can see why the studios MAY have lost some confidence in him after this incredible mess of a movie.

I mulled over how I would explain the movie to you, and I finally decided on just spoiling the whole thing. Usually I shy away from doing something like this, but the hilarity of the movie and the mind boggling shifts of style and tone make it so that the journey is really where the entertainment is, not a slavish devotion to surprises. The basic premises of the story is that we have Henry Carpenter (Jaeden Lieberher), a brilliant 11 year old who is SOOOOOOOO incredibly smart that he manages his mother’s finances, gives existential discussions on his legacy during a class presentation, programs his mother’s computer, and pretty much seems to be able to read minds. Mother Susan (Naomi Watts) is a sweet lady, but she’s just a waitress who was dumped by her no good husband, and is content to live in her giant house and play video games by herself while Henry does the finances, or gets drunk with her waitress friend Sheila (Sarah Silverman), who flirts with little old Henry just out of habit.

Henry has a crush on the girl next door, but said girl next door has a terrible secret. Her step father (Dean Norris of Breaking Bad) abuses her (no idea whether it’s molestation or just regular physical abuse, but the story SEEMS to be hinting at molestation at times, then other times it takes the direction of physical violence. It’s really left up to the viewer’s imagination), with Henry witnessing the crime night after night as he watches out of his window into the open window next door. He tries to alert the authorities, but the only person who comes out to investigate the crime happens to be the step father’s BROTHER (by the way, did I mention that the stepfather is a high ranking police officer in the town?), who just sweeps it under the counter. Even the school principal ignores the situation, much to the chagrin of Henry, despite the poor girl having bruises constantly and trips to the school emergency room for trauma.

Well, that can only mean one thing. We’re going to switch gears and have Henry use his over powering intellect to concoct a plan to assassinate the step father. Visiting gun shops and other sources, he figures out a plan to end the man’s life only to be suddenly onset by a stinking BRAIN TUMOR! Yes, you got that right. Henry is planning his deed one moment, and then that night falls over with a seizure and has to be whisked over to the hospital where he is diagnosed with a massive brain tumor by Dr. Daniels (Lee Pace), who only gives him days to live. Well, this is the perfect opportunity for the naughty minx Sheila to come in and give some comfort, smack a big kiss on the boy’s lips and then have Henry pass away amidst the sobs of his mother and brother.

If you’re thinking “oh, this is a cute and tragic tale of a boy’s life cut short”, be prepared for another massive genre change. Henry’s brother, Peter (Jacob Tremblay) gets ahold of Henry’s little red book. A sort of diary, that explains his plans and reasons for assassinating his next door neighbor. Like any good mother, Susan reads the diary and says “hey, I think I’m going to honor my poor boy’s memory by completing his plan of murder”. So she gets a high powered sniper rifle, complete with scope, and begins to practice in her back yard (no one hears sniper fire, even with a dinky suppressor on it) while being coached by Henry, who left a series of tapes in her possession with instructions and coaching information (cuz you know, he was able to slip away from the hospital and put everything down on tape and deposit those tapes in his mother’s home during the couple of days at the hospital). Setting up a sniper’s nest in Henry’s old play fort (which looks like a cadre of bored art director’s created out of all their spare steampunk paraphernalia) and gets ready for the shot. Luring the step father out with a walkie talkie (gun fire out in the back yard, not going to raise an eye, but use a walkie talkie and the curious cop goes to investigate), she prepares to put a .50 caliber bullet in the man when suddenly a freak twitch of her toes unearths a drop down array of pictures of her young boy Henry, and she suddenly realizes “Henry’s just a boy! I can’t do this!”. Picking up her weapon she goes and confronts the child abuser, and tells him that she will let the police and everyone know of his crimes. As the scene fades out you see the sirens in the background and our evil villain blows his own brains out rather than be caught. Simultaneously we see the poor next door girl giving an interpretive dance recital for the talent festival and it’s at THAT MOMENT that the principal looks in her eyes and says “wow, Henry must have been right, she looks like she was abused!” (you know, the ER visits, the bruises, the accusations, those weren’t enough. But interpretive dance? Yeah, that does it). Then we get to see the film fade out as Susan finds out that Henry made some incredible stock purchase, leaving her with nearly 2/3rds of a million dollars, giving her the freedom to adopt the now fatherless girl next door and live happily ever with Peter and her. The end.

Holy cow! I’m not sure what to think of The Book of Henry. The amount of shear “you have to see it to not believe it” lunacy in the movie is beyond funny. I can understand mashing together several genres, but the execution is key, and the execution here is nothing short of inept on a masterful level. The film jolts about all over the pace, trying to be a story about a brilliant kid who is so smart he’s almost prescient, to a sob story about a dying boy, to a dark thriller about an abused girl at the drop of a hat. You can flit back and forth between the sub stories and hyper speed while not even bothering to make sure the audience has their seat belts on. Characters are introduced and then vanish into thin air (Sarah Silverman’s character just pops in for a few quick scenes, and after her little intimate encounter at the hospital she just vanishes), and you’re left wondering what the ending will bring. I almost wondered if we were going to delve into science fiction and you find out that Henry is actually a futuristic time traveler who is trying to change some injustice in the past, but nothing that good actually happens.

The script is incredibly and inexcusably bad, and the direction even worse. Colin Trevorrow can’t seen to grasp what type of movie he wants to make, and what’s even worse is the fact that he can’t elicit a single scrap of caring emotion from the audience. I was left sitting there with my mouth hanging open at the train wreck that unfolded and left the viewing wondering just what exactly I had seen.




Rating:

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements and brief strong language




Video:

The Book of Henry is one of the ever rarer films that are ACTUALLY shot on real film stock. Shot in the 2.00:1 aspect ratio (a bit of a strange and odd ball ratio, but one that is gaining popularity it seems), the movie maintains a very healthy looking encode with a stable image that just reeks of quality. Colors are warm and inviting, with an almost homey glow to them. Color saturation is excellent, with primary reds and blues and soft autumn colors richly detailed and brilliantly lit. Skin tones look natural (although a bit ruddy at times), and the contrast levels appear evenly balanced. Fine detailing is excellent across the board, whether it be simple things like the fiber’s on henry’s cap, or the lines and creases in Sarah Sileverman’s now middle aged face. Black levels are deep and inky, with a goodly amount of shadow detail and little, to no, artifacting that I could see.





Audio:

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA track for the film is about what you would expect for a drama like this one. The mix is rather front heavy, with a strong emphasis on dialog and ambient sound effects. The vocals are crisp and well placed in the front, and the melancholy score flows effortlessly among the channels. There’s a good amount of background ambiance that bleeds through from the sides, such as a car door slamming, or Susan’s old rust bucket screeching to a halt in front of Henry’s school. There’s not a whole lot of LFE or much heaviness to the track, but there is a tap dancing scene near the end that adds some thunder to the subs so they don’t feel TOO left out.








Extras:

• Filming The Book of Henry – Filmmakers and cast discuss the long process of getting this passion project to the big screen.
• The Book of Henry: The Cast – Hear the cast talk about what drew them to their roles. Filmmakers also weigh in on what each cast member brought to their part, and why they were the perfect ensemble.

Final Score: ​

As you can tell, The Book of Henry wasn’t what I would call an Oscar worthy film. Razzie maybe, Oscar? No. I’m giving this a 2.5/5 rating instead of a lower one just because the movie has to be seen to be not believed, and that sort of entertainment adds SOME value to the viewing experience. Honestly, I recommend watching this one to anyone I meet, just like I beg people to see Nicolas Cage’s The Wicker Man, as it’s one of the most hilariously inept movies of all time. You just have to SEE this film to actually comprehend the masterful ineptness of it all. The video is really quite excellent, though, and the drama audio mix right behind it. Sadly the film was missing any really major extras, so I will leave it at this. Worth watching as a historical reference for how to NOT make a movie.




Technical Specifications:

Starring: Naomi Watts, Jaeden Lieberher, Jacob Tremly, Lee Pace
Directed by: Colin Trevorrow
Written by: Gregg Hurwitz
Aspect Ratio: 2.00:1 AVC
Audio: English DTS HD MA 5.1, French, German DTS 5.1
Studio: Universal
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 105 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: October 3rd, 2017

Image

• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Incredibly Insane Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Based on this, I will watch it on amazon prime/netflix once available.

 

[Peter Loeser]

I'll admit, I saw the score, scrolled down, saw "Incredibly Insane Watch" and thought "wait a minute..."

Now I'm almost tempted to watch it.

 

[Michael Scott]

lol, it has to be seen to be believed. I felt like I was watching The Wicker Man again in the sense that I was just shocked at what I was seeing.

 

[Todd Anderson]

Mike, this is definitely one of your more interesting reviews. Gotta say: I'm intrigued! This one might just find its way from redbox to the movie room.

 

[Michael Scott]

lol, I almost had more fun with the review than anything.