Henry’s Crime – 3*
Director Malcolm Venville’s new film, Henry’s Crime, has all the subtleties of a Woody Allen caper and the oddly mismatched characters of a Coen Brothers production, but without the latter’s distinguished expertise on plot development. That said, and with hindsight, it proves to be a charming and indulgent watch because of some delightful performances from the likes of James Caan and Vera Farmiga – even with the slightly ludicrous plot points along the way. It’s a little piece of life in set in Buffalo New York, performed with all the theatrics of Chekhov’s last play, The Cherry Orchard, that’s being staged in the film, making you wonder whether Venville is actually being ironic?
Its star, Keanu Reeves, who looks alarmingly plastic and pallor in this, seems to have cultivated his deadpan, almost android-like expression from The Matrix and The Day The World Stood Still days into one semi-warm and human portrayal as Henry. This may well be a factor of our empathy with Henry’s unexciting lot in life, more than anything else. The tollbooth worker seems to be sleepwalking his way through life, simply surviving, even after being fingered as the getaway driver for a bank robbery he has no idea is being carried out by a so-called former ‘friend’, and his wife going off with and falling pregnant by one of the men responsible for getting him banged up for three years.
Part of the waiting throughout is for Henry to burst forth with a lot of pent up rage and energy, but we sense that Henry has got so used to bottling his feelings and disappointment that it will take a real lively and influential character to trigger this. Enter Caan as old lifer Max who’s been so institutionalised it takes some persuasion on Henry’s part to get him to leave prison after being paroled. Caan gives one of his best comedic performances of late, becoming a comforting father figure and best friend to Henry. Nevertheless, this is where the film’s believability is first questioned: Would a bar with a newspaper cutting about a blocked up tunnel leading from the theatre to the bank still be there after being discovered in the Prohibition years, and with all the high tech bank security around today? Possibly. Still, you roll with as it’s way to experience the absorbing talents of Caan as a confidence trickster at play, coaching Henry, and providing some of the delightfully humorous moments in the film.
Henry has a bumpy introduction to spirited and sarcastic TV commercials actress Julie (Farmiga) who is starring in the play across the road. Farmiga makes a significant mark once more, and is truly magnificent, mixing balls with vulnerability as Julie, which she gets to unleash at cantankerous prima-Donna theatre director Darek (Peter Stormare). But even with Farmiga in the frame, long-gone is the old Reeves’ ‘Ted Logan’ spirit that was still alive and kicking in Point Break, with the actor never allowing Henry to fully come to fruition in following his dream (robbing a bank/playing the lead in the play). Instead, Reeves prefers to play Henry with a little too much frustratingly low-key enthusiasm that it makes the actor seem like a vacuous one-trick pony, which he isn’t, suppressing any real passion that we desperately need to see at the end.
Despite its plot holes, meandering nature (at times) and believability issues, the ensemble cast brings sparkle to the rather mediocre-scripted Henry’s Crime, and are the primary reason for seeing it to conclusion. The film also feels exquisitely nostalgic in manner, like a good old-fashioned, 40s/50s-styled crime thriller with a vein of comedy pulsing through it, but with a contemporary overhaul. In fact, this could be Venville’s thorn in the proverbial side as Henry’s Crime is unsure of how it wants to be portrayed. Still, it’s not a crime to catch it and enjoy the supporting cast for who they are, even if Reeves lacks the charisma of a 40s/50s anti-hero, like Cary Grant.
3/5 stars
By L G-K
