Henry's Crime

Having struggled to make it as an A-lister since ‘The Matrix’, Keanu Reeves goes back to his indie roots for this low-key, affecting ’70s-style crime comedy. The story begins quietly – perhaps too quietly – as hapless tollbooth operator Henry (Reeves) gets entangled in a bank robbery and is hauled in for a three-year stretch. Once released, Henry decides to commit the crime he’s served time for, hauling in bedraggled former cellmate Max (James Caan) as back-up. All fairly predictable – until the arrival of love interest and jobbing actress Julie (Vera Farmiga) takes Henry – and the film – in an unexpected direction. British director Malcolm Venville (‘44 Inch Chest’) handles the script’s shifts in tone with a sure hand, moving easily from autumnal drama to romantic comedy to suspenseful thiller, layering in a great soundtrack of ’60s soul. But it’s the cast who shine: Reeves plays to his strengths as the buttoned-down everyman, Farmiga radiates warmth and Caan hasn’t had a role this meaty since ‘Misery’. A quiet triumph.