The Book of Henry may be a small film, but it’s coming with big expectations thanks to the past work of its primary players. The film, which is still keeping the plot under wraps, stars Jacob Tremblay, fresh off his acclaimed performance in Room. Colin Trevorrow, who recently scored a worldwide box office smash with Jurassic World, directed the film. And in his comment to Empire Magazine, Trevorrow reveals that he still has lofty aspirations for the picture:
“I wanted to do something that scared the hell out of me” Trevorrow tells Empire of his return to smaller-scale filmmaking. “An acoustic movie with intense emotion. The challenge was to give an audience the same tension and thrills they get from a blockbuster, but rely solely on story and character to do it.”
That’s a nice sentiment, and Trevorrow did pull off an admirable film with his debut feature Safety Not Guaranteed, so it will be interesting to see him return to smaller scale filmmaking. While we may not know much about the plot, Empire tells us it concerns two brothers Peter and child prodigy Henry Carpenter (Tremblay and Midnight Special’s Jaeden Lieberher, respectively) who “collaborate on a scheme to rescue their neighbour (Maddie Ziegler) from abuse at the hands of her police commissioner dad.” Naomi Watts co-stars as the boys’ single mother who offers love and support.
I'll admit that I'm not the biggest Trevorrow fan after Jurassic World, but I'm glad that he's squeezing in a smaller film before he goes to a galaxy far, far away with Star Wars: Episode IX. I also like that he's focusing not only a smaller story, but still trying to reach big emotional stakes.
Take a look at the first image from The Book of Henry. The film is slated to open later this year.
