The Book of Henry

Sometimes things are not always what they seem, especially in the small suburban town where the Carpenter family lives. Single mother Susan Carpenter (Noami Watts) works as a waitress at a diner, alongside feisty family friend Sheila (Sarah Silverman) . Her younger son Henry Carpenter (Jaeden Martell) is a playful 8-year-old. Taking care of everyone and everything in his own unique way is Susan's older son Henry (Jacob Tremblay), age 11. Protector to his adoring younger brother and tireless supporter of his often self-doubting mother - and, through investments, of the family as a whole - Henry blazes through the days like a comet. Susan discovers that the family next door, which includes stepfather Glenn (Dean Norris) and Henry's kind classmate Christina (Maddie Ziegler) , has a dangerous secret - and that Henry has devised a surprising plan to help. As his brainstormed rescue plan for Christina takes shape in thrilling ways, Susan finds herself at the center of it. Never leave things undone !.

A sensitive and enjoyable film with nice acting, though a bit slow, the story results to be some boring. The history blends a strange mixture of silly family comedy, melodrama, realism, suspense, cuteness and terror with uneven results. The film is acceptable and passable and the final half hour elevates it quite a bit. The family plot line is simplistic , though it has some twists and turns, and so various characters are predictable, but it is a good entertainment. Decent interpretations from Noami Watts as the protective and sensitive mother, Jacob Tremblay as the intelligent, wise older son, Jaeden Martell as the naive younger son, Sarah Silverman as the likeable friend, Dean Norris as nasty stepfather, Lee Pace as Doctor Daniels and special mention for Maddie Ziegler as the charming dancer at her big screen debut.

It packs a colorful and brilliant cinematography by cameraman John Schwartzman, as well as vibrant and rousing musical score by Michael Giacchino, both of whom are Colin Trevorrow's regulars .The picture was professionally written and directed by filmmaker Colin Trevorrow and shot in 36 days . Trevorrow is a fine craftsman , he wrote and directed "Home Base" that became one of the early viral successes on the internet. His first feature film was the succesful "Safety Not Guaranteed" and following Jurassic World (2015) this quickly became one of the largest grossing in the year because it gives audiences exactamente what they want , only more so and following this The Book of Henry (2017). Rating : 6/10. Acceptable and attractive but no notable film.

It's been a while since a trailer threw me completely. The intent of a trailer is to entice the viewer in to seeing the film, to tickle your curiosity. The trailer for The Book of Henry did this admirably. Like a magician's sleight of hand, it provided misdirection too. Having seen the film, I left thinking that that was not what the trailer implied. Hats off to  editor, Kevin Stitt.

The plot synopsis on IMDb.com, written by the distributors, Focus Features lays out the plot without spoilers:

Sometimes things are not always what they seem, especially in the small suburban town where the Carpenter family lives. Single suburban mother Susan Carpenter (played by Naoimi Watts) works as a waitress at a diner, alongside feisty family friend Sheila (Sarah Silverman). Her younger son Peter (Jacob Tremblay, who we last saw in Room) is a playful 8-year-old. Taking care of everyone and everything in his own unique way is Susan's older son Henry (Jaden Lieberher), age 11. Protector to his adoring younger brother and tireless supporter of his often self-doubting mother - and, through investments, of the family as a whole - Henry blazes through the days like a comet. Susan discovers that the family next door, which includes Henry's kind classmate Christina, has a dangerous secret - and that Henry has devised a surprising plan to help. As his brainstormed rescue plan for Christina takes shape in thrilling ways, Susan finds herself at the centre of it.

This is Colin Trevorrow's second feature and he has crafted a warm, charming, sometimes despair-filled film that ultimately brings a message of hope. Good triumphs over evil in the end, as it should in most films.  

Critics have been very harsh in their reviews. Some decry being emotionally manipulated! Is that not the whole point of going to see a film? Audience reactions are more favourable.

My reaction? I cried. Twice.

A very enjoyable and competent film: 3.5 out of 5

I went into The Book Of Henry expecting essentially a kids film, I guess by the title I figured this would be something akin to Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010). I was wrong, I was really really wrong.

The Book of Henry is a masterful clever title that isn't for kids and I wouldn't even say is suitable "Family" viewing. It tells the story of a single mum with her two children, she's essentially failing at life and the eldest of her two sons (Still a little boy) is the man of the house. He's a child genius and his mother depends on him to an overwhelming extent. He begins to fear his friend next door is being abused by her father so sets about a powerful intricate plan but things don't go to plan and the whole film goes in a direction I certainly did not forsee.

A true tour de force The Book of Henry had me gripped with it's remarkable plot and strong performances, by the half way point I expected this to potentially be another 10 but sadly it fell short.

Don't get me wrong The Book of Henry is a good film, it's clever, it's witty, it's unpredictable and it's heartfelt but somewhere along the way it falls short of greatness.

It's tone is inconsistent and it would be very hard for me to narrow down a demographic, it's similiar to The Lovely Bones (2009) in it's dark overtones but oddly quaint imagery.

Well made and certainly an original piece this perhaps should have been better but regardless is a sweet little film.

The Good:

Unpredictible

Powerful stuff

The Bad:

Fails to truly deliver on its potential

Not sure Watts was the best casting choice

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Not every child actor makes me want to dive into the screen and slap them repeatedly. Most, but not all.

Naomi Watts tends to pick movies that are simply too good for her

"The Book of Henry" is definitely not for people who like taut, coherent, logical plots devoid of standard clichés. As others have noted, it's really all over the place, and its mix of silly comedy and tear-jerker tragedy, realism and fantasy, cuteness and horror, and so forth doesn't exactly pan out in the end. Still, if you enjoy films that are simply different experiences, emotionally stirring even if they require you to heavily suspend disbelief, perhaps lay it aside altogether, this film will probably prove worth seeing, and you may really love it. It certainly keeps your attention with numerous surprises and much suspense. Fine acting by Naomi Watts and just about everyone else, along with some stunning scenery of the upstate NY setting, also help this film. I am glad to have seen "The Book of Henry" and would like to give it a higher rating, but with all its issues, I just can't.

Has you laughing and crying, very human. Didn't know what to expect when I started watching this, stumbled upon the title. The richness of the characters, you could feel the love in the family through the acting.