Henry’s Crime
After living in Buffalo the past four years, I was intrigued to see how director Malcolm Venville (44 Inch Chest) would capture the disparate lifestyle and rundown city with his latest feature Henry’s Crime. Starring Keanu Reeves, James Caan and Vera Farmiga in script from Sacha Gervasi (Anvil), he tells the story of a tollbooth worker who goes to jail for a robbery he was mistakenly involved with. After getting out of prison, he plans to do the crime he did the time for.
Venville attempts to balance comedy and drama with very little success. Keanu Reeves simply can’t pull off a dramatic performance. It’s impossible to buy his relationship with Farmiga. His lifeless demeanor matches the dry tone of the film. There is absolutely no style to be found here. What could have been the most interesting aspect, the actual “heist,” is done in...
After living in Buffalo the past four years, I was intrigued to see how director Malcolm Venville (44 Inch Chest) would capture the disparate lifestyle and rundown city with his latest feature Henry’s Crime. Starring Keanu Reeves, James Caan and Vera Farmiga in script from Sacha Gervasi (Anvil), he tells the story of a tollbooth worker who goes to jail for a robbery he was mistakenly involved with. After getting out of prison, he plans to do the crime he did the time for.
Venville attempts to balance comedy and drama with very little success. Keanu Reeves simply can’t pull off a dramatic performance. It’s impossible to buy his relationship with Farmiga. His lifeless demeanor matches the dry tone of the film. There is absolutely no style to be found here. What could have been the most interesting aspect, the actual “heist,” is done in...
- 9/20/2010
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Drips dropping backwards, long barren hallways bearing flickering fluorescents, flashbacks to childhood. Each beautiful, but together they compose the thoroughly unoriginal shot list with which Bessai begins his time-bending thriller.
A group of “friends” in rehabilitation focus on the banalities of the day-to-day: Kyle Halsted, a former drug dealer, has been distanced from his family for good reason; Sonia, 92 days clean, has an abusive father in the hospital; and Mike Weeks has his dad in prison for his efforts. Lonely and distanced from their pasts, they bind in a support system that consists of cigarettes and each other’s self-righteousness.
Screenwriter Arne Olsen’s premise is that following simultaneous electric shocks, the group repeats the same day over and over. Despite its brooding tone, the film can’t help but bear comparisons to Harold Ramis’ comedic masterpiece, “Groundhog Day.” Still, the audience for this film is probably a generation removed...
A group of “friends” in rehabilitation focus on the banalities of the day-to-day: Kyle Halsted, a former drug dealer, has been distanced from his family for good reason; Sonia, 92 days clean, has an abusive father in the hospital; and Mike Weeks has his dad in prison for his efforts. Lonely and distanced from their pasts, they bind in a support system that consists of cigarettes and each other’s self-righteousness.
Screenwriter Arne Olsen’s premise is that following simultaneous electric shocks, the group repeats the same day over and over. Despite its brooding tone, the film can’t help but bear comparisons to Harold Ramis’ comedic masterpiece, “Groundhog Day.” Still, the audience for this film is probably a generation removed...
- 9/13/2010
- Moving Pictures Magazine
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