Henry & Verlin

A disclaimer: My son is named after Kenneth Ledbetter and Ken was one of the finest men I have ever known. Gary Ledbetter -- all the Ledbetter family are friends.

This is a splendid "small" movie. Production values that in no way reveal it as a "small" movie; performances from one and all that convince you; and a story that leaves you feeling better for having watched it.

Filmed by Gary as a gift to his father (who died before it was complete) this film moves the stories from the Ozarks where they were originally set to Ontario. This story touches on the theme of "what do we do with the useless people". In this case the answer is love them.

I enjoyed it, my wife enjoyed it. Despite him being less than two at the time we watched it my son's attention was held by it -- I think because the protagonist was a small, blonde boy (like him). Don't let the comment above leave you thinking this is a kid's movie; it isn't.

You may have trouble finding it in your average video store, but take to time to look for it and you will not be disappointed.

Henry is a grown man who is mentally retarded. Verlin is a little boy who never speaks. Together, they are supposed to warm your hearts as you watch them frolic about as loving soulmates.

Henry has a nasty habit of kidnapping Verlin and carrying him around on his shoulders. He's not very responsible and also has the habit of inadvertently injuring Verlin. He knocks the kid to the ground and slams his head against things. It's all quite adorable. Henry is kind enough to show Verlin the joys of smoking (and strangely smoking is heavily promoted in this film). The boy doesn't enjoy his first cigarette very much and throws it into a pile of hay. This starts a fire and Henry tries to put it out by urinating on it. The fire continues to rage so he has an ingenious idea...he unzips Verlin's pants so he can urinate on the fire too. Ah yes, that's doubly adorable.

Henry introduces Verlin to his friend, the prostitute with the heart of gold. She would be a total movie cliché except that she is given a wooden leg. Of course, it breaks off to provide the viewer with a supposedly side-splitting moment of laughter. Soon enough, Henry and Verlin are sharing a bed together in their undies. A couple of women burst in on them and have the nerve to get upset! Ultimately, the adorable tyke and his dim-witted "special friend" fight the system in the hopes of running off together happily ever after.

I'm not sure who is supposed to be the target audience of this film. The pace of the movie is very slow and the subject matter has limited appeal. I truly thought when I purchased the DVD that it would be a touching story about people who are considered different from others and how they are often ignored or ridiculed by supposedly "normal" people. Instead, I got an uneasy story about a man and a boy's obsession with each other. 1/10

The story of Henry and Verlin is one that is filled with emotion. Keegan MacIntosh's performance as Verlin, a young boy who does not speak and is emotionally disturbed, is brilliant as well as the rest of the cast. Certainly a movie worth seeing.