There’s only so much to take away from Henry’s Crime, a sleepy little heist film where both the writers and characters get sidetracked by the in-story distraction, but what seems to be the ultimate point is that actors love playing actors. The film is never so much at ease as when it’s creating the scenes of a small theatrical troupe rehearsing their upcoming rendition of Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, and yet in the background it attempts to tell the story of an innocent man who decides to do the crime he wrongly went to prison for. With a loose performance by Keanu Reeves anchored by solid turns from James Caan and Vera Farmiga, Henry’s Crime has promise and merit in most places, but it comes across as a meandering crime thriller that just doesn’t know what to do with itself in its second act.
Tricked into acting as the getaway car by a friend who told him they were going to a softball game, Henry (Reeves) sat outside a bank as three masked men robbed it and ran off, leaving him to take the fall when a police officer notices him idling nearby. In prison, Henry makes friends with Max (Caan), whose sarcastic response to Henry’s insistence of innocence inspires him to finally do the crime he was originally accused of. When Max receives his parole, the duo recruit a third party and begin planning the heist by breaking into the vault through a tunnel connecting it to a local theater for the performing arts. To get access, Henry auditions for the lead in the upcoming production and finds himself the co-star of Julie (Farmiga), an impulsive firebrand who finds in Henry her soulmate. As the heist and opening day approach, Henry, Julie and Max find their plans complicated by ghosts of the past and passions for acting.
Farmiga and Caan both give performances with a certain playfulness that gives the film a very tongue-in-cheek feel that blurs the line separating its comedic theater and crime thriller halves. Reeves, ever disconnected from his characters, does little more than serve as a pawn moving between plotpoints as those around him offer the drama and comedy. Unfortunately, this all falls into the pot along with a first and third act that make sense and a quagmire of a second act that stews about and offers lots of squawking but little substance.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
There are none.
"Henry's Crime" is on sale August 23, 2011 and is rated R. Crime, Drama. Directed by Malcolm Venville. Written by Sacha Gervasi, David N. White. Starring James Caan, Keanu Reeves, Vera Farmiga.
