g-49747 Unparalleled development of three characters flawed only bc Henry begins as such an unbelievable loser. The tempo is beautiful, rising to genuine theater in the final scene. One of the best low-budget films I've ever seen.

lewisfindley3 Henry's Crime tells the story of Henry who is a toll booth worker and has a life with no real sense of purpose. He has a wife Debby (Judy Greer) and they are having problems as she wants to have a baby but he is quite not there yet. His day quickly takes a turn when his school friend Eddie Vibes (Fisher Stevens) lands him in trouble eventually leading to him being sent to jail for 3 years for armed robbery.Whilst in prison he meets his cell mate Max (James Caan) and they quickly build a relationship. Whilst in prison Henry's outlook on life changes as one of his prison friends points out that he had done the time but not committed the crime and this stays with Henry throughout the entire film. Also, that his wife, Debbie, has fallen in love with someone else.Upon his release, he goes back to his home to see that his former wife is pregnant, with his friend Joe's baby, and is happy. He takes his stuff and moves into a new home. Whilst there he sees an advert about Buffalotto sang by an actress telling listeners to take a chance on life and come to Buffalotto. He soon travels back to the scene of his apparent crime and gets hit by a car driven by a local actress Julie (Vera Farmiga) and they soon become acquainted. Whilst at a pissoir, he reads an article about a tunnel being made during the prohibition of alcohol and sees that it was between the bank and the theatre next to it. Henry soon realises that his dream is to rob the bank that he was put in jail for.After speaking with Max about his dream he asks him to help him do it as Max is up for parole. Max reluctantly agrees and is granted parole. Henry takes him to the pissoir and lets him read the article and Max is very reluctant about their endeavour. They visit the bank to see if the vault is still there in the same place and then to the back of the theatre leading up to a chance encounter with the same actress that hit him with her car. Henry asks out Julie and tells her of his plan. During their date they recite a scene from the play where she calls him a natural and this is later told to Max the following morning.Whilst at rehearsal the same morning, the male lead leaves the film for another production. Max asks Julie to let Henry perform. Henry gets the part and they now have a way to get to the tunnel undetected. However, it is sealed with dirt and they decide to put it on the roof. They ask Joe to help as it is a mammoth task. Joe agrees.Eddie Vibes makes a return to the film as Joe tells him of what is happening and forces his way into the scheme. As the big day gets nearer the guard of the bank who busted Henry asks to be part of the scheme and provide inside knowledge. They all agree and see that the date of the hit conflicts with opening night and this means that Henry has to leave but his heart doesn't. Soon after telling her this, Julie and Henry get into an argument and their relationship hits a major stumbling block. On the night of the hit they break into the vault and take the cash. Before Henry comes back Eddie Vibes reveals his true intentions and attempts to rob the rest of the crew. He hits max and shoots Henry after Joe tries to apprehend him by biting his wrist which is holding the gun. Now wounded, Henry is asked to go back to the stage to perform his lasts scene before departing.They leave Eddie at the scene of the crime and embark off on their journey. Henry tells Joe to stop the car and tells Max that he cannot stay. Max tells him it is OK and Henry hobbles back to the theatre. He gets back in time for the last scene of the play and makes an appearance and runs on stage to save his relationship. He also tells other staff members to leave so it is just him and Julie on-stage. Completely shocked, Julie uses the nature of the play and their relationship to reinforce the underlying similarity.After a heart-warming improvisation mixed with real feelings he asks her to meet him in Moscow (I haven't read the play but I assume that is where his character went).What I loved about the film was how much the play did have characteristics of their relationship. Also how Keanu and Vera would have to act in the film but also act in the play at the same time and it reveals how much of an art acting is. The music soundtrack is also very good as you just think of Henry and the film and I feel it is the perfect compliment. The acting between the three leads (Keanu, Vera and James) was amazing and I think everything was there, it was thoroughly enjoyable and I would recommend it to anyone.

ultragothic 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.

KineticSeoul 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