Henry was a toll collector working on the highways in Buffalo, New York, and he always worked nights. It seemed that Henry's life had no purpose or ambition. Dream is a word that has nothing to do with him. One morning, he was woken up by a phone call that turned his life around. After going out, he became an eyewitness to a bank robbery, but the unsuspecting police took him to prison by mistake.
In prison, he was in a cell with a man named Marcos. Marcos is a fraudster who has lived in prison for a long time. Although the prison is an embarrassing and embarrassing place, Marcos regards it as his "Xanadu". He imbued Henry with a concept that changed the trajectory of his life: a man must have a dream before he can find a purpose in life.
A year later, Henry was released, and he found his dream of life under Marcos's "coaching". He really wanted to rob a bank as his "goal". Soon, Henry found the target, a small bank. Beneath the bank is a long-forgotten tunnel dug by smugglers. This passage connects the bank to the theatre in the city. Henry released Marcos, who was unwilling to get out of prison, and made him his companion. It seems that the two's bank robbery plan is on the line.
Their plan was simple, infiltrate the theater, dig a passage to the smuggling channel, open the bank's safe, and steal the money. However, this requires Henry and Marcos to spend a lot of time in the theater in order to dig a tunnel to connect the smuggling channel. In desperation, and by coincidence, Henry became the hero of Chekov's classic four-act play "The Cherry Orchard" being rehearsed by the theater. Playing alongside him is the moody Julie. However, Henry gradually found himself in love with Julie, who had become his muse. But the robbery plan is still at his hand, and what will Henry, who has regained his life and found the meaning of life again, choose?
One sentence comment
Although this is a film about crime, the theme of the film is how people should find themselves and make life more meaningful. It can be said that the film is very entertaining.
- "Variety"
The tone of the film is very similar to "In the Clouds", and Keanu Reeves' performance also seems to bring us back to the days of "Boogie Sky", which makes people linger. ——Fully behind-the- scenes production of the
film to find a sense of existence Although the film is about a bank robbery story of a man who "goes to jail before committing a crime", the main theme of the film is about a man who finds the meaning of life and encounters love in a boring life. And finally find out that he still "exists" in the world. For the story, Keanu Reeves said: "Prisons, bank robberies are just superficial stories, the real story is how a person is changed. Stephen Hamel created this story, it's great." 2005 In 2008, Hamel stumbled upon a story about a man who did not commit a crime, but went to prison, and then this arguably worthless man found motivation and purpose in life in prison. Hamel said: "This story comes from my imagination. For me, the image of Henry comes from my observation of life, he is a fully mature person. But it is because of this maturity that he looks Like a cynic. He needs some excitement outside of his normal life." The story is the basis of the entire film, and to get it written and brought to the screen, Hamel found his old friend Keanu Reeves. Subsequently, the two found the British screenwriter Sasha Gervasi together, hoping that he could expand the story framework into a script. "I once wrote the script for 'Happy Terminal,' and they found me because of the script," said Gervasi. "I think they wanted me to write it because they felt some of the emotions in 'Happy Terminal'. The story of the characters may have something to do with Henry's story." Very smoothly, Gervasi agreed to write the script, but it took almost 4 years to write the script.
"We have imagined countless versions of the story, all kinds of situations and clues," Keanu said. "We wrote a lot of characters, a lot of plots, deleted, added, we just wanted to experiment with the simplest kind of story. , some of the most indispensable characters." Because Keanu Reeves was involved in the writing of the script, Jevasi felt that the process of writing "Henry's Crime" was very unique. He said: "It's a really weird experience because the actors write the script with you. And we're always experimenting with different approaches to see what kind of plot is best. For a screenwriter, it's written like this The stuff is very enjoyable, and it is different from the general writing experience. It can be said that we started the filming of the film from the stage of script writing."
After having the script, what was put in front of Reeves and Hamel was to find a suitable 's director. Entering their sight is the famous British photographer, music video and advertising director Malcolm Wenville. He just finished filming his feature debut, "44 Inch Bust." Reeves loved his debut feature, saying: "I think his aesthetic and perspective are unique, and I love his films. I was very impressed with his chatty and humor when we met. So we They all decided to find him to be the director.” Regarding the first time he came to the United States to make a film, Wenville said: “Like the British crew, the American crew is also full of passion and fighting ability. Especially Levi’s, his dedication is It’s rare. This story is very good and original, and it’s because of it that I decided to come to the United States to make a movie.” It was the once-popular veteran actor James who joined the crew after
saving costs and rushing time .
Kane and Vera Farmiga, who has been in the limelight in recent years. It can be said that their arrival is all because of Keanu Reeves' popularity and his good popularity in the circle. Vera said: "I have always been a huge fan of Keanu, and I have seen all his movies. I feel very satisfied and happy to have the opportunity to work with such a legendary actor. When the crew came to the door, I can't believe the male lead is Keanu and I'm going to have a love scene with him in the movie."
The film began shooting in Buffalo, where the story took place. For Wenville, the biggest problem facing him was the two major problems of independent production: small cost and short cycle - the film's shooting cycle was only a short 32 God, any mistake can be said to be fatal, because these stars are starring in a bunch of film appointments, and the ultra-small investment scale does not allow Venville to have the slightest margin of error. In order to be able to shoot the film, Wenville, photographer Paul Cameron and art director Chris Jones, who he once worked with, formed a close cooperation "iron triangle", because the style and shooting speed of the whole film are all the same. It is necessary to rely on the "play" of these two. Venville said: "Cameron has done a lot of action movies, he has no doubts, so he can quickly understand what kind of look I want, and can shoot them very well and quickly. He understands what to do. And Chris, a good friend of mine, is a very talented art director. Especially with a small budget, he knows how to save money and how to get the desired effect with a small cost The result of working with them was, it was perfect, we shot the entire film on budget and on time."
To make the New York shoot "smooth" and "save money," Venville And Keanu Reeves brought in Limore Sevan, an experienced producer in New York. Venville said: “Sevan is the kind of super-producer who is rooted in New York. She understands everything in New York, knows what to do and what not to do on location. She can find a lot of support and valuable help. , she can really protect a film." In Limore Sevin's view, making this film is not too different from making other small-budget independent films, she said: "Like any other film, shooting The biggest challenge with a film like this is getting the shots as beautiful and complete as possible within the cost. It also feels like there isn't enough money. And my job is to put the money where I can, so that every dollar counts on the final screen. I think we're doing okay." To Limore Say Wan's work, Venville is very satisfied, he said: "It's so cool, Sewan's work is doing a great job, she is the MVP of our crew."
Trivia
Sasha Gervasi is the screenwriter of the film, he He is also the producer of the film.
·Most of the film was shot in Buffalo, and some scenes were shot in Niagara Falls, Yonkers and so on.
· The film participated in the 2010 Toronto Film Festival.
·The crew used a real toll booth in the film, which was located on Long Island. The eldest son, Sonny, played by James Caan in The Godfather, was shot and killed at this toll booth.
The theater that appears in the film is actually Tarrytown Music Hall, a good six-hour drive from Buffalo. This concert hall was built in 1885.
Great Dialogue
Julie: Aren't you guys worried about getting caught?
Max: It's kind of a win-win situation for me.
Julie: Why?
Max: I like jail.
Julie: Aren't you the kind of scared of getting caught? people?
Marcos: For me, it's a win-win situation.
Julie: Why?
Marcos: I love prison.
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