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Friday, April 15, 2011

MOVIE REVIEW
Henry's Crime
Thief Of B&E: Breaking Hearts, Banks And Expectations


Keanu Reeves as Henry in Malcolm Venville's comedy-drama film "Henry's Crime". 
Anchor Bay

by Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com        Follow popcornreel on Twitter FOLLOW
Friday, April 15, 2011

Maybe Keanu Reeves is more suited to roles in smaller, independent films.  Gus Van Sant used him effectively in "My Own Private Idaho" years ago.  In 2009 he was adequate in a minor role in Rebecca Miller's "The Private Lives Of Pippa Lee".  Now Mr. Reeves gets top billing as the title character in "Henry's Crime", Malcolm Venville's crime-comedy, which expanded its release today to additional U.S. cities.

Henry is at a standstill in Buffalo, New York.  He's not come far since being voted "Most Nicest Guy" in high school.  Henry's monotonous highway toll-collecting job, conducted in the dead of night as a solitary car whizzes by his live-operated toll booth, is as unfulfilling as his slow-motion marriage.  Simply put, life is passing Henry by, and he gives an accepting smile in response.  Passive and ineffectual, Henry ends up in prison when he could easily have avoided it.  While there he meets Max (James Caan) and decides to jump start his static life by robbing a bank.

In "Henry's Crime" legal impossibility and factual impossibility, two legal terms of art, are somewhat on trial, and the terms of engagement in Henry's life are strictly happenstance.  Henry is the champion of inertia, until Julie (Vera Farmiga) literally knocks him off his feet. 

Mr. Venville crafts a charming, awkward comedy full of overtures and oddities, keeping us engaged enough in the ups and downs of Henry's dilemmas.  Mr. Reeves' blank slate approach works here in a slower-paced film that allows for a measure of time, space and breathing room, courtesy of pronounced facial expressions and pauses.  "Henry's Crime" offers a few laughs, most of those emerging from pain and the folly of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Otherwise, it's a predictable work despite some snappy lines of dialogue penned by Sacha Gervasi and David White.

Of note however is Peter Stormare, great as Darek Milodragovic, a stage director putting on a live performance of Chekov's "The Cherry Orchard" at the local theater next to the targeted bank.  Darek's the high-octane antithesis of Henry, encouraging his theater actors to take risks to make things happen.  Mr. Stormare, a fine character actor, disappears beneath bellows and a beard.  His exchanges with Ms. Farmiga are lively and funny.  Julie is an actress looking for a more distinguished résumé, and her role in "Cherry Orchard" may be the ticket to bigger and better roles.  Ms. Farmiga, who appeared earlier this month in "Source Code", is more unpredictable here as she uses the inner mischief she had in "Source Code" and externalizes it in a cocky, cheeky and amusing way.

Above all, "Henry's Crime" celebrates a relentless thieving of expectations.  More than one situation is jeopardized or interrupted by chance or karma or life itself.  The film's music however, is a major disappointment.  Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings' R&B and jazz tones shine beautifully but don't fit the tone of Mr. Venville's film, which has a contrary, more discreet rhythm.  Maybe Ms. Jones and her group's music is the inner spark that represents the awakening of the lead character, but I found the music disruptive and distracting -- and I'm a huge jazz and r&b fan.

Most of the film's score simply doesn't belong.  If you can get past the incongruous music choices, "Henry's Crime" will provide limited enjoyment but with a strong collection of actors including Mr. Caan (great here as Max) and Bill Duke as a bank security officer, this tidy film should have provided much more.

With: Judy Greer, Fisher Stevens, Danny Hoch.

"Henry's Crime" is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for language.  The film's running time is one hour and 47 minutes.

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