‘The Book Of Henry’ Review Roundup: Maddie Ziegler Movie Crucified By Critics

Don’t expect “The Book of Henry” to be remembered come award season. Director Colin Trevorrow’s family drama is being absolutely screwed by critics ahead of its big screen debut on Friday.

The film follows Henry, a boy genius, played by Jaeden Lieberher. When Henry notices his neighbor is in trouble, he takes action to save the young girl. His neighbor Christina is played by “Dance Moms” reality TV sensation turn actress Maddie Ziegler in her first big screen role outside of the animated genre. Alongside the two child actors are Jacob Tremblay of “Room” fame, as Henry’s younger brother Peter, and A-lister Naomi Watts as the boys’ mother Susan.

When Henry uncovers that Christina is possibly being sexually abused by her stepfather, he devises a plot and asks his mother to lend a hand.

While the film sounds like an emotional rollercoaster, a majority of reviewers have slammed the film for its unbelievable storyline, lack of sympathetic characters and twist ending. Before seeing “The Book of Henry” in theaters, find out what the critics are saying.

I am about to kick your dog. I am going to tell you that ‘The Book of Henry,’ which many people are likely going to go see hoping for a moving experience, what with its talented cast and gifted, adorable child actors, is in reality a manipulative exercise in emotional bullying. - AZCentral.com

“The compounding coincidences he requires in order to deliver a happy ending are almost disgustingly dishonest,” John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter writes. Still, DeFore compliments Watts for giving a good performance, writing, “The preposterousness of Gregg Hurwitz’s screenplay isn’t enough to throw star Naomi Watts off her game, and the actor’s sincere performance may suffice to keep a segment of the family-film demographic on board, barely.”

‘The Book of Henry’ tugs on your heartstrings like a cable technician yanking a stubborn wire through a wall. Accordingly, it is completely insane. The plot proceeds from the charming to the manipulative to the shameless to the demented in gentle steps that may lull some audiences the way a frog can be boiled to death by degrees. Others may watch this movie through their fingers, suspended in the delight that can attend a truly wrongheaded movie. - The Boston Globe

“There’s the kind of bad movie that just sits there, unfolding with grimly predictable monotony. Then there’s the kind where the badness expands and metastasizes, taking on a jaw-dropping life of its own, pushing through to ever-higher levels of garishness,” writes Owen Gleiberman of Variety. While the critic says the first half hour of the movie is watchable and praises Lieberher’s work, he complains about the film’s decision to turn into a “disease-of-the-week weeper.”

The Wrap didn’t completely slam the movie. “Lieberher somehow manages to sell a role that could easily seem very contrived and both Trevorrow and Watts gutsily navigate some very sharp shifts in tone,” writes Dan Callahan, also noting “outstanding moments” for supporting cast member Sarah Silverman.

A dance scene involving Ziegler, however, had the reviewer describing the movie as an “unintentional comedy,” writing, “When a ballet recital from Christina is cross cut with Susan trying to intimidate the girl’s glowering stepfather, and then things really get laughably inane when a school principal suddenly realizes that something is wrong purely because of Christina’s sad ballerina emoting.”

The Film File gave “The Book of Henry” the benefit of the doubt, saying it may just be misunderstood.

‘The Book of Henry’ is difficult to pin down because it doesn’t safely fall into any one genre box or target demographic. At times, it appears to be a heartwarming family film. In others, it delves into serious mature themes that younger audiences will probably not understand. In others still, it transforms into an intense thriller. Trevorrow gives the material a gentle yet assured touch while refusing to pander. As well-earned as the film’s emotions are, however, the unusual plot becomes increasingly contrived. Viewers are either going to go with it, or they won’t. It worked for me, most of the time, aided by an ensemble of wonderful performances that make the unbelievable suddenly plausible.

“These are characters we are supposed to know in real life, but they behave in utterly alien ways and are placed in unfathomable situations.... Big subjects, like domestic violence, are glossed over and simplified to the point of abstraction, while thematically, the idea of making your time on this earth count through the power of your actions, becomes dulled when the ultimate action being emphasized is cold-blooded revenge,” writes The Playlist, noting, “Just because a movie is different.... doesn’t mean that it’s good.”