Henry's Crime

I will admit the main reason I decided to watch this movie was because Keanu Reeves is in it. Not that I find him to be a great actor or anything like that but I enjoyed a lot of the stuff he was in. I though this actor never ages but in this you can tell the guy is getting old now. And although I never found Reeves to be a great actor he fit in very well for a role like this. "If you did the time you might as well have done the crime". Is one of the quote in this movie and that is what the character Henry(Keanu Reeves) goes by after getting out of prison for a crime that he was unintentionally a part of. But his motives are quite different than most criminals that tries to commit a crime. Yeah Keanu although entertaining to watch his presence in movies is bashed upon for not being a great actor like I said before. But in a role like this he fits right in and is actually believable. As a character who is a quite, reserved person and is also a person that lacks ambition but has a kind heart. I didn't find the chemistry between him and the actress Vera Farmiga all that great since the actress isn't likable at all. And just comes off loud and selfish in my opinion but who am I to judge when it comes to someone falling in love. I gotta say though the actress is really good and her acting was top notch and believable, like as if she is like that in real life. Overall I didn't find this movie all that entertaining and found the chemistry to be lacking, but it's passable barely. 6.5/10

Toll-booth attendant Henry (Keanu Reeves) serves jail time for a bank heist he didn't commit. On being released he determines to rob the same bank (on the grounds that he might as well, as he has already served the time). He recruits cellmate Max (James Caan) to help with a plan involving using an old tunnel between the bank and the theatre next door. The theatre is rehearsing Chekov's The Cherry Orchard and we find Max both performing and falling for actress Julie (Vera Farmiga). I knew little about this film going in: only a synopsis briefer than the one in the preceding paragraph. In particular, I did not know what genre the film fitted into and, consequently, I spent the opening half hour or more trying to figure out what sort of movie I was watching. I am no wiser. But I don't think it matters. It features comic elements and there are points when you chuckle, but it isn't a comedy (possibly more of a comedy of errors than an outright comedy). It might be classed as a drama except, to be perfectly frank, it is so totally improbable that it seems unfair to classify it as a drama. There are elements of romance except, again... I never lost interest, and I was entertained throughout, but I left the cinema thoroughly bemused as to what exactly I had just watched. I think the overall improbability is what works most strongly against the film, together with Keanu Reeves' Henry during the first half hour or more. Henry shows no reaction to anything, to the extent that I wondered if he was supposed to be simple minded. You never know what he is feeling or thinking and, therefore, what his motivations are and, given the plot line, this is a serious failing. And it's a failing in the conception of the character, not in Reeves' acting, because Henry suddenly starts reacting and behaving normally about a third of the way through. James Caan is clearly having a great deal of fun as Max, and Vera Farmiga continues to impress by cutting a thoroughly believable Julie out of unlikely cloth. And Peter Stormare as a caricature Russian director is almost worth the price of admission on his own. This movie is worth trying out if you fancy something which doesn't obviously fit any conventional stereotype.

Time Out described it as a "Quiet Triumph" and I tend to agree. It's not the best movie ever made but is clever, multi-layered (stories within stories within...) and an interesting, often tongue in cheek, look at acting as a process. It is enjoyable, although slightly uncomfortable in places as Farmiga plays self reliant/involved diva and ego-above-her-status-actress very well and with great aplomb. Caan's comic relief as the wannabe lifer adds some one liners and fun to a film that has an old-fashioned serious classic quality both in style and direction (something to do with dimensions of camera angles/screen apparently), and the soundtrack is brilliant. Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard lends a certain gravitas to the proceedings, and a backdrop for the real-life storyline, as does Reeves' deliberate delivery and method metamorphosis from downtrodden bored/boring-but-nice average Joe to cavalier passionate lovestruck criminal-mastermind, which is impressive! I think this film is a slow burner... after watching it, it stayed in my mind and I want to see it again, sure there will be more layers and nuances that I missed.

Why the "awful" rating? Our cable channel offered it for free and got almost no takers... I watched it and could see why! Sorry Keanu but first you're brain- dead with no explanation then suddenly you are a "natural" actor who can do Chekov instantly? Slow, dumb non-event with great supporting cast simply wasted on this. It lacks any kind of dynamic in the story, drama or plot. Reeves goes to the nicest prison on the planet which is full of mature, well-balanced, kindly folk (here I vomit)and manages to be liked, loved and respected by everyone - even the wife who left him and the cop who arrested him for bank robbery - without lifting a finger or even an eyebrow! A plot full of lazy holes and patches....they spent millions and made peanuts on this straight to the give-away bin DVD.

Throw out your preconceptions of bank heist films and you have a good start on "Henry's Crime". This one is a left-field success. The story isn't at all remarkable, other than it was imagined and realized. The thing that makes this flick fly is the fantastic performances. No one is acting, they're just being really low-key engaging. This makes the parts greater than the whole. You've seen some great movies with James Caan, but did you expect another now? I've sensed Keanu Reeves could use his "stiffness" to great effect if something which depended on that came along and this is it. Add some rich flavor with Vera Farmiga and a slight undercurrent of comedy and director Malcolm Venille delivers just the right end result. This bank heist film is more a comedic love story than anything…And, it works. A slacker, who is actually happy married and going nowhere, becomes a witless victim of circumstance. While in prison he is told he has to have a dream or his life is meaningless. Once more circumstance intervenes and he realizes what he has longed for is the meaning life has once its shared. The trouble is that he is a bit slow to come to that realization and the dream he imagined, that being a bank robbery without violence, really isn't his dream at all. The whole thing is juxtaposed by his becoming an actor, the suitor, in Chekhov's play "The Orchard Thief". Again, low-key brilliance. This movie entertains first and foremost. It passes as if it is ten minutes due to the uniformly excellent performances of the cast. The direction gets out of the way and there isn't any need for any special effects or senseless action. It ends in the best possible way as to not try to tie up anything past the found love between two people. Simply put, entertaining low-key brilliant thus highly recommended.

source: Henry's Crime

This movie is very intense with a mixture of suspense and the actors in this film did an amazing job also. I enjoyed it very much and you all should give it a shot! I've watched it twice by the way lol

The story line did not pick up quick enough to keep my interest. It had the potential to go somewhere but I turned it off 2/3's of the way through. Maybe it peaked at the end

I like Keanu Reeves, but he has turned out a disappointing uninspired performance in this film. It may not be his fault because the storytelling itself was quite dull. Events unfold tediously without really building up. I think it was because the music failed to do its job of creating the tension at the right time. Nice songs in the background, but that's no excuse for not having a good score.