Henry & Julie - Der Gangster und die Diva

I went to see this movie yesterday and I have been positively surprised.

Keanu Reeves has given a great performance as Henry, the main character. The chemistry between Reeves and his counterparts (Vera Farmiga and James Caan) was really good and palpable.

The story was convincing, well written and from start to finish I actually believed in what was happening on the screen. Vera Farmiga, who plays the female lead character, is superb, credible and bitter enough to give convincing diva acting in the Checov's Cherry orchard play, which is crucial for the dynamic development of the movie itself.

I left the theatre thinking I wanted to see it again.

Highly recommended.

Can Henry get away with it? This is the type of movie where we want him to succeed, like in "Ocean's Eleven".

In a better movie, James Caan would have been nominated for an Oscar for his excellent portrayal of Max. He is the standout performer here.

Vera Farmiga is quite good as Julie, who is better than this sorry role. And yet she gives it her all. What she does on stage and in rehearsals is worthy of being seen on the Tonys.

Keanu Reeves is okay. Not bad. Not great. He's better in the Chekhov play.

Fisher Stevens does a very good job. I'm used to seeing him as a basically nice guy who is sleazy, but here is is just bad. Not bad in that sense. He's very good at being bad.

There's no clear ending. I will say that much. So I'm not quite sure what happens. But the climactic scene is pretty amazing.

It's really worth seeing.

I understand why some people did not like this very good film - it is slower, and it is not The Matrix, or Konstantin. This is a very good work, and yes, Keanu's character is a bit slow, silent and detached - but here is what he is like. His role is balanced perfectly by fiery and very funny James Caan who did a very, very excellent job. His part of a con-man is a great plus, and his part is almost The best in here. Vera Farmiga is another great plus of the movie, her part of a Russian theater actress is very cool, too. She does a perfect Diva here, and does it extremely convincing way. Well, yes, the movie is not a fast and furious action one, but this was not the intent. The very theater style of the film is obvious, and the nice link to the Chekhov's play is a warm heart-thawing welcome for all Russian viewers. Keanu is a very good Lopakhin and Vera is a very sweet Ranevskaya. And then, yeah, here is excellent Peter Stormare as a choleric and very short-tempered theater director with all his idiosyncrasies and craze. Casting was done very well, and this stellar ensemble of actors is a mighty element for the great movie.

Henry's Crime from 2010 was a nice surprise.

The film stars Keanu Reeves as Henry, a man who seems to go through life like a sleepwalker. When his friends ask him to fill in at a baseball game for their sick friend, Henry goes along.

When ALL of them go to the ATM at the bank and ask him to wait outside, Henry goes along. And then he goes along to prison after the bank is robbed, taking the fall for his friends.

While in prison, Henry meets Max (James Caan), a confidence man who loves prison and botches his parole hearings every time. Max's philosophy is, to find a purpose, you have to have a dream. Apparently his is to stay in prison.

Once released, Henry, who at this point has no life, decides that since he was accused of robbing the bank and didn't, he's going to rob it now. He discovers that a long-ago tunnel into the bank still exists from the theater next door. It means talking Max into getting parole. And it also means getting a role in "The Cherry Orchard."

A top cast that includes Vera Farmiga and Peter Stomare, who gives a hilarious turn as the director of the Chekov play, really liven up this film. It's an intriguing if improbable plot; they make it fun.

Reeves to me isn't much of an actor, but he pulls off Henry just fine. I'm not sure what his secret is, but he always seems to look the same age.

Farmiga as the actress anxious to get out of town is excellent, and Caan is terrific. Fisher Stevens is on hand as one of Henry's robbery "friends," who turns up again.

This is a little gem that apparently only played in 8 U. S. theaters.

I will admit the main reason I decided to watch this movie was because Keanu Reeves is in it. Not that I find him to be a great actor or anything like that but I enjoyed a lot of the stuff he was in. I though this actor never ages but in this you can tell the guy is getting old now. And although I never found Reeves to be a great actor he fit in very well for a role like this. "If you did the time you might as well have done the crime". Is one of the quote in this movie and that is what the character Henry(Keanu Reeves) goes by after getting out of prison for a crime that he was unintentionally a part of. But his motives are quite different than most criminals that tries to commit a crime. Yeah Keanu although entertaining to watch his presence in movies is bashed upon for not being a great actor like I said before. But in a role like this he fits right in and is actually believable. As a character who is a quite, reserved person and is also a person that lacks ambition but has a kind heart. I didn't find the chemistry between him and the actress Vera Farmiga all that great since the actress isn't likable at all. And just comes off loud and selfish in my opinion but who am I to judge when it comes to someone falling in love. I gotta say though the actress is really good and her acting was top notch and believable, like as if she is like that in real life. Overall I didn't find this movie all that entertaining and found the chemistry to be lacking, but it's passable barely.

6.5/10