Review: The Book of Henry (12A)
A deeply moving first half sketches family dynamics with flecks of humour, underscored with scintillating performances from Naomi Watts and Jacob Tremblay, child star of Room.
14-year-old Jaeden Lieberher, who scene-stole the 2014 comedy St Vincent from Watts and Bill Murray, commits a similar act of thievery here in the demanding title role.
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Hide AdScreenwriter Gregg Hurwitz quickly exhausts our cache of goodwill by demanding gargantuan suspensions of disbelief in the second half as Watts’ suburban mother hen metamorphoses into an avenging assassin with a sniper’s rifle and carries out her boy’s plan by following a tape recording that Henry prepared in advance. The Book Of Henry is held together – just – by the lead trio, who anchor their characters in heart-breaking reality and Sarah Silverman offers spunky comic relief as Watts’ co-worker.
On general release