The Book of Henry (2017)
Susan, a single mother of two, works as a waitress in a small town. Her son, Henry, is an 11-year-old genius who not only manages the family finances but acts as emotional support for his mother and younger brother. When Henry discovers that the girl next door has a terrible secret, he implores Susan to take matters into her own hands.
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Well the movie was no less a tale than those Watts's character writes. I love such tales. More a drama than a thriller, the level of genius of the elder son was a bit over the top... but this was more than its parts and overall a nice ride.And I just love Naomi Watts. The kids' performances were good, too. And of course the bad wolf. But Watts... Great choice, just great.I can go so far as to say this is a family flick.Don't watch the movie and then rate it low just because it's not the unpredictable thriller riddled with self-defeating twist bombs that you were wanting to watch. Just try other movies because this movie is basically drama.
I'm going against the norm here, but I loved this movie. Both of the brothers are portrayed by amazing child actors. Since I knew going in that it wasn't supposed to be a light-hearted family film, I wasn't surprised by the revelation of what's going on next door. Heartbreaking at times, lots of funny moments, definitely frustration regarding the situation, and I adored Sarah Silverman's character. Henry definitely knew everything about his mother, something that makes the second half of the movie that much better.
Movie in three parts but only the middle one is watch-worthy. After the first part, I was glad I stuck with it but with the third part it went off the rails and by the end I was actually feeling sorry for myself! Movies that create so much expectation for so little realisation are doubly disappointing. Its problem is it can't make up its mind if it wants to be a Disney movie or a thriller. No matter, it all ends up an unbelievable mess. Performances especially the ever-reliable Naomi Watts were all good.
Naomi Watts is a suburb actress and she delivers a good performance in this film as well. The story is carried, however, by Jaeden Lieberher who, as an extremely intelligent child, tries, but fails, while he is alive, to put away a next door neighbor who abuses his stepdaughter. Unfortunately, it takes his death for an effort to take place to put an end to this abuse. An interesting story well worth your time.