Review of The Book of Henry (2017) by Tex S — 18 Jun 2017

Jacob Tremblay saves "The Book of Henry.".

This review has mild spoilers but none telling how it ends.

The vitriol this film has received from some critics is overblown. What angers them, it seems, is that this could have been a great film, and it tried to do too much. And aren't we more angry at those those we love and have disappointed us than those that we had no expectations of?

Yes, the film has flaws. It tries to do too much and throws in enough plot elements for four Hallmark After School Specials. But here's the catch: the acting is fabulous and much of the dialogue is high quality. While a lot of the film is too incredible to believe, it doesn't suck as much as critics who conflate this film with a tragedy like the Hindenburg disaster state.

Henry of the title is a genius kid. We have seen that in film before. And we have also seen genius or not so genius kids get cancer. And we have seen films where children are abused and the powerful get away with it. Cliché, cliché, cliché. And while I was starting to get out the poison pen when this happened, I had to put it back in my quill. Why? The writing saved it from being as predictable as one assumed it would become and the acting, especially that of the actors playing the two brothers, was stellar. That can't happen with a terrible script. Jason Tremblay was spectacular as the younger brother Peter, and I hope he continues to get challenging roles to entertain us. Even Sarah Silverman, the mother's friend, didn't suck as much as expected.

On the flip side, those that praise the film unabashedly must be blind. Sure, the acting is good, but most of the plot elements are predictable and rely too heavily on coincidence. Some tightening of the plot and the editing would have made this film much better. At least the music was high quality and much of the the cinematography was beautiful and effective. ??

Rating: Matinee.

While I wanted to originally say "Rent it", the acting an ending that didn't suck make this worth seeing for a few of bucks on a big screen.