Plot: Henry Johnson follows the title character as he navigates his search for a moral center after an act of compassion upends his life. Looking to authority figures he encounters along the way — including his eventual cellmate, Gene — Henry’s journey leads him down a road of manipulation and ethical uncertainty. The film is an exploration of power, justice, and the consequences of letting others choose your path for you.
Review: David Mamet is a name that has become synonymous with masterful writing. A playwright and filmmaker for over fifty years, Mamet’s works have become required reading in performing arts programs nationwide. Having written films including Glengarry Glen Ross, Ronin, and Hannibal, Mamet’s directorial projects have been no less influential. While my favorite is 1997’s The Spanish Prisoner starring Steve Martin, Mamet has helmed many movies based on his plays and original scriptwork. It has been twelve years since Mamet’s last directorial effort, the HBO original film Phil Spector starring Al Pacino and Helen Mirren. Mamet’s new film, Henry Johnson, is a prime example of the biting dialogue the filmmaker is still capable of in a film that features performances that outweigh the movie.
Henry Johnson is less a film than a cinematic adaptation of Mamet’s stage play. Comprised of four sequences, the film feels like a series of short films connected by the titular character. Each conversation between Henry Johnson (Evan Jonigkeit) and other characters shows outsiders’ influence and the ease with which someone can be manipulated through persuasive arguments. Despite the title bearing his character’s name, Evan Jonigkeit is more of a supporting player for his co-stars, who get to deliver long monologues with minor rebuttals and interactions from Henry himself. Jonigkeit does a good job here of lobbing the ball back to his scene partners, but this film is truly a showcase for Chris Bauer, Dominic Hoffman, and Shia LaBeouf.
The overarching flow of the film finds attorney Henry Johnson embroiled in illegal activity, which sends him to prison. In the opening sequence, we watch as Henry and his boss, Mr. Barnes (Chris Bauer), discuss the case of Henry’s friend. Almost cross-examining Henry, Mr. Barnes asks questions and concludes, influencing Henry’s answers and drawing out assumptions that lead Henry to question how his boss could know these things. It is a stellar performance from Chris Bauer, a longtime character actor who has been in everything from The Wire to Thunderbolts* and has originated performances in many of David Mamet’s plays. The interaction between Barnes and Henry becomes increasingly contentious with the scene leading into Henry’s incarceration, where he meets his cellmate Gene (Shia LaBeouf) and guard, Jerry (Dominic Hoffman).
The two middle sections of the film focus on Henry meeting his cellmate and the course that Gene sets Henry on. Shia LaBeouf has already proven himself to be one of the best actors working today, and his challenges have kept him out of bigger projects over the last decade. Still, Henry Johnson once again proves how masterful an actor he can be. Gene is a misogynistic and divisively opinionated criminal who speaks with a Shakespearean eloquence that charms Henry. While we can pass judgment on how gullible Henry could be, how Gene seduces his cellmate into changing his fundamental beliefs and taking on a risky plan is like watching a car crash in slow motion. I cannot imagine many actors who could play Gene as alluring and revolting as LaBeouf does here. It is a brilliant performance.
The film’s final act has Henry and Jerry barricaded in the prison library. This sequence has the most dialogue from Henry, but remains a spotlight on Dominic Hoffman. A frequent player in Mamet films and plays, Hoffman serves as a makeshift negotiator as he tries to talk down Henry from the bad path he is headed down. Of the three sparring partners, Hoffman’s Jerry is the most soft-spoken and gracious, which makes the direction the film heads all the more emotionally impactful. All four actors in this film are as good as they are thanks to where David Mamet’s script starts them. Acting decisions in tone and inflection certainly adjust the way the scenes unfold. Still, the complex and long stretches of one character talking are difficult for stage performers while sometimes stalling the momentum of a film. Nevertheless, Hoffman ends up as one of the major highlights of this film with a performance that sits beautifully alongside Bauer and LaBeouf.
As a series of performances, Henry Johnson is a brilliant showcase for this cast. As an example of David Mamet’s writing skills, it is still good. Still, it suffers from overly complicated forays into legal jargon and repetitive arguments that mask controversial topics about women and the way men perceive them. As a film, Henry Johnson is more of a filmed take on a stage production with good set decoration. Mamet does not move the camera much as it statically holds on the actor delivering his lines, allowing the work to be in the performance rather than the filmmaker’s art. That said, clocking in at less than ninety minutes makes Henry Johnson a quick and easy exploration into how frightening and straightforward manipulation can be. Henry repeatedly says, “How did you know that?” when the other characters infer something about him. Rather than being impressive like a magician performing a trick, it becomes repetitive. Overall, Henry Johnson is an intriguing story worth watching for the phenomenal supporting performances.
Henry Johnson is now playing.
Source:
JoBlo.com
