Henry Johnson

Henry Johnson is a phenomenal film to watch. They say that the road to Hell is paved with good intentions and this film is the visual depiction of that phrase. It's a well directed tale that gains momentum as it shifts from scene to scene culminating in an ending that pulls you in, sways you gently back and forth and then throws you off a cliff. The dialogue between the actors throughout the film was so smooth that it brought to mind an Olympic relay team effortlessly passing a baton back and forth. Don't miss this one - it's been a long time since a film of this caliber has been made and probably a long time before one like it will be made again.

Wordy playwright David Mamet got behind the camera for the first time in a decade+ to direct his own screenplay (adapted from his own play) "Henry Johnson" - a dull & plodder that may delight his pseudo-intellectual snob fans but will sink anyone else into a morose coma. It's basically four conversations the titular Evan Jonigkeit has with Chris Bauer (good), Shia LaBeouf (twice), then Dominic Hoffman. If it ended after Bauer's opener it would make a neat short, but no, it descends on into weighty come forgettable droning monologues to illustrate one man's weakness. It's a crushing bore that'll make most hope Mamet disappears for another decade+. Dreadful.

What a bore fest!

Is this really the same David Mamet, the one who gaves us House of Games who wrote and directed this terrible script?

He lost it completely.

Non stop speaking ogwash to hide a non existant intrigue is not the way to go.

The film is painfull to watch from the first minutes (the first scene is 20mn long of non stop fast speaking with very bad directing and pace) I was hoping it would get better later but it doesn't.

The two next scenes are the same type.

After 1 hour who felt like 3, I decided to fast forward (an I'm the patient type).

Nothing special at the end.

This is just a very basic story excessively badly told.

Avoid!!!

Firstly it's not a 10, it's more an 8. But tue 1s and 2s it does not deserve.

This is a brief look at a broken system which can quickly drive someone to madness in a falling-down esque way.

The acting is precise and the monologues are engrossing and believable. It's cold and ruthless and meant to be drawn out and dark! You need to imagine yourself sat in the audience in a dark theatre watching only 2 ppl on a stage ignoring all that's around you and totally delving into their world. If you try it to look at this as a film then you will misunderstand and belittle it. But this is a triumph and a testament to the creators. I'm guilty of not following Mamet's work but now I'm intrigued and shall be driving into his back-catalogue.

This is not cinema at its best and it's not meant to be. It's designed to be a mere snapshot of a handful of characters over an unknown time period. We don't need a backstory or building of characters or any real plot. We just need to sit and admire how a basic premise here can open our eyes, albeit for a very short time, to catastrophic events that could happen to literally anyone given the circumstances.

I am 9 minutes and 20 seconds into this 1 hour and 25 minute movie, somebody reviewed it and called it mamet speak, this is absolutely 100% undeniable atrocious ridiculous stupid terrible nonsense!, no way on somebody's green earth do two lawyers talk this way!, what they are saying is so nonsensical and dumb that no one and I mean no one unless you review this movie with a seven or an eight or something and have I guess dubious thinking skills possibly could sensibly consider this dialogue as in any way meaningful it is not meaningful it is in direct contrast to whatever is meaningful, don't waste your time on this well I'm going to call it gobbledygook if that's permissible, what a dumb movie.