Henry & Julie - Der Gangster und die Diva

I like Keanu Reeves, but he has turned out a disappointing uninspired performance in this film. It may not be his fault because the storytelling itself was quite dull. Events unfold tediously without really building up. I think it was because the music failed to do its job of creating the tension at the right time. Nice songs in the background, but that's no excuse for not having a good score.

Throw out your preconceptions of bank heist films and you have a good start on "Henry's Crime". This one is a left-field success. The story isn't at all remarkable, other than it was imagined and realized. The thing that makes this flick fly is the fantastic performances. No one is acting, they're just being really low-key engaging. This makes the parts greater than the whole. You've seen some great movies with James Caan, but did you expect another now? I've sensed Keanu Reeves could use his "stiffness" to great effect if something which depended on that came along and this is it. Add some rich flavor with Vera Farmiga and a slight undercurrent of comedy and director Malcolm Venille delivers just the right end result.

This bank heist film is more a comedic love story than anything…And, it works. A slacker, who is actually happy married and going nowhere, becomes a witless victim of circumstance. While in prison he is told he has to have a dream or his life is meaningless. Once more circumstance intervenes and he realizes what he has longed for is the meaning life has once its shared. The trouble is that he is a bit slow to come to that realization and the dream he imagined, that being a bank robbery without violence, really isn't his dream at all. The whole thing is juxtaposed by his becoming an actor, the suitor, in Chekhov's play "The Orchard Thief". Again, low-key brilliance.

This movie entertains first and foremost. It passes as if it is ten minutes due to the uniformly excellent performances of the cast. The direction gets out of the way and there isn't any need for any special effects or senseless action. It ends in the best possible way as to not try to tie up anything past the found love between two people. Simply put, entertaining low-key brilliant thus highly recommended.

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.

Malcolm Venville's 'Henry's Crime' is a delightfully lowkey heist/ romantic comedy. By romantic comedy I don't mean those sugarcoated typically Hollywood rom-coms that are set in New York or that star Julia Roberts. This is nothing like that. The humour is quite dry and subtle and the romance is depicted effectively through non-verbal expressions rather than words. Then there's the heist angle which is depicted very simply. The director and writer don't attempt to build tension (as is done in most other heist flicks) because the primary focus is on the characters and 'Henry's Crime' has some fascinating ones.

The production values are modest and the execution is pretty good. The sets are quite appealing without having to be lavish. Several instrumental tracks in the score are brilliant. Silence is effectively used as the quietness brings out a certain charm.

Keanu Reeves plays the title character and his performance here is better than most of what he's done. He is overshadowed by Vera Farmiga, Judy Greer and James Caan. Greer has a very small role but she wonderfully conveys the layers of her character. Farmiga is superb as the feisty yet bitter but soft-hearted Juñie Ivanova. She plays the part very naturally. Caan provides some excellent comic relief. The supporting cast is very good even though Stormare's caricature director does occasionally get on one's nerves.

To sum it up, 'Henry's Crime' is a simple and splendid heist rom-com. The symbolic ending has various layers and it doesn't desperately try too hard to tie things up.