Henry (Alex Scarlatos) is a young man on a journey. He’s traveled to the desert to be on his own for a little while–but the real journey is finding himself. As he experiences the desert in strange ways, he begins to understand who and what he is, and he may not like what he finds along the way. Can Henry survive under the weight of his own mind, or will he crush himself?
Driven by sound, Henry’s score is intense, scattered, and exciting. It captures the essence of the film from the opening seconds, and it instantly allows viewers to understand what Henry is all about. Shea Glasheen is tasked with a lot throughout the course of this film–voicing multiple characters and creating the score. As wonderful a job as he does in the other aspects of the film, the score is what he does best. The film’s score is uncomfortable, almost abrasive. As Henry travels through the desert on his own, the heaviness of his being weighs him down; the score does the same for viewers. Glasheen’s work allows viewers to feel out of sorts and lost, much like the titular Henry.
The same adjectives used to describe the score can be used to describe Henry as a whole. Intense, uncomfortable, abrasive, and heavy accurately describe writer-director Matthew Kyle Levine’s vision–and while those terms may make the film appear unappealing, Henry is actually quite beautiful. We are all facing demons, we all wake up each day with a task in front of us, and rarely does a person have the ability to completely ignore the hardship in their life and move along as if life were perfect. The fact is that the hardship we face often exists inside of us, and those internal hurdles are often the most difficult ones to get over. That’s what Henry explores. There’s a wonderful group on Facebook called “i feel personally attacked by this relatable content.” The content is often funny, and it pokes fun at the mental and emotional struggles of everyone in that group, but it also allows its members to look at themselves and voice a veritable “oh” as they realize there are other ways to deal with depression, hardship, failed relationships, etc. (not to mention the fact that they aren’t alone through their struggles). Levine forces his viewers to look introspectively and attempt to understand why all that Henry does is relatable–but more importantly, what they can do to become better. Looking in a mirror and analyzing yourself is a tall task, but Levine allows his viewers to do this in a new and interesting way.
Henry is beautiful, and I’m not sure that musically or cinematically the film could have been brought to life in a better way. There is a constant sense of isolation present throughout Henry and that comes as a result of the way in which the story is told. Henry literally exists all by himself throughout the course of the film–every other character exists only via phone conversation or message. That idea of isolation becomes almost tangible as Henry is forced to do everything on his own. Everything is depicted perfectly from beginning to end.
There are so many wonderful aspects of Henry, but the part most integral to the story is the acting. Touching on that idea of isolation, Scarlatos is tasked with creating emotion and empathy through the characters by himself, as, like previously mentioned, he’s the only one that ever appears on screen. His acting is superb, and oftentimes his performance feels less scripted and more natural. He seems uncomfortable and unfamiliar with his surroundings, and he conveys these sentiments with precision. He’s relatable, honest, and interestingly familiar as he navigates not just the rocky terrain of the desert but of his mind as well.
Levine likes to tell stories in a concise fashion. I’ve been fortunate enough to see some of his other projects, and they all seem to aim toward telling a story in the most succinct way possible. I see this as a result of Levine being a talented storyteller. He doesn’t beat around the bush or attempt to manipulate his viewers through silly or unrelatable scenarios–he tells his stories in a simple and familiar fashion. Henry is a perfect representation of what Levine and his crew are capable of doing. From the second the film begins, until its final moment, everything is incredibly well done. Discomfort, unease, relatability, and conciseness sum up the beauty of Henry. Levine is damn near the perfect storyteller, comparable to some of Hollywood’s greats–I look forward to seeing him do great things in the future.
Written & Directed by Matthew Kyle Levine.
Starring Alex Scarlatos, Tate Kenney, Shea Glasheen, and Timothy J. Cox.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/10
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