The best metaphor I have for the quality of this film is the trajectory of United 93: It starts out great, then abruptly takes a sharp dive straight into oblivion. It's a real disappointment, because I wanted to see it as soon as the trailer came up in the cinema last time I went. (Apparently I don't go to an actual cinema very often…) Now I'm just glad it was a $6 rental on iTunes watched (at least in part) by about ten people, instead of an $80+ trip (not including popcorn) to the cinema.

This movie's crying shame lies in its waste of a compelling premise on flat characters—or even caricatures.

Henry is an incredibly interesting character who gets nowhere near as much screen time as he should. [spoiler]He dies[/spoiler] at the end of the first act, but not before [spoiler]Sheila kissing him (romantically) on his death bed[/spoiler] completely disintegrates any shred of believability the movie might have started out with. And if that didn't do it, the second and third acts certainly will.

Susan is so over the top with the childish behavior that it strains credibility in every single one of her scenes. (In particular, there is no way any human mother could possibly suggest, except as a joke, that the whole family will eat nothing but dessert for every meal for a week. But she appears to do it, as evidenced by Peter's school lunches.

Christina is really nothing more than a pretty young face, who happens to be a pretty good dancer. Her character has zero depth. There's really not much to say, in part because she doesn't really say much in the whole film.

Glenn is more or less type-cast—the last role I saw Dean Norris in was as the self-appointed sheriff of Chester's Mill in _Under the Dome_, and Glenn Sickleman is kind of just a watered down version of Big Jim Rennie. His [spoiler]suicide[/spoiler] is nothing more than a weak, convenient plot device to tie up the ending with a "twist" of sorts.

Dr. David Daniels (how many Ds do you need, man?) might be the most believable character in the film, though mostly I was just enjoying seeing Lee Pace outside of his role as Joe MacMillan on _Halt and Catch Fire_ (which I also enjoy more and more as I make my way through that series). He seems like a real guy with real care and affection for his patient (and his patient's family), though he's written pretty flat in the hospital scenes.

Finally among the "main" cast, Sheila… I don't know where to start. She's all over the place from the beginning, never establishing any character traits beyond "alcoholic". We don't find out why she is one, at that.

Matthew Lickona, writing for the San Diego Reader, might have said it best: "However hard the talented cast may try, those aren't people up on the screen; they're candles, balloons, and marbles." (`https://www.sandiegoreader.com/movies/the-book-of-henry/`)

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I haven't even touched on the plot itself, only the characters. Suspension of disbelief goes out the window within about 20 minutes at the latest, and by the time we reach the third act… You couldn't even hold up your disbelief with a Saturn V firing at full thrust. Try it, I'll wait.

Done? Good. You see my point.

What starts as a family drama turns into a not-very-taut thriller at the drop of a hat. The tonal shift falls flat, and "bewildering" is the word that comes to mind when I try to think of ways to describe the transition. It's abrupt, it comes out of nowhere, and it's impossible to take Susan seriously when she's telling off Glenn in the woods. Simply impossible.

I already mentioned the weak, convenient plot device that ties up the feel-good ending, but I just have to mention it again: [spoiler]Glenn kills himself when he finds out that someone called Child Protective Services on him[/spoiler]. There's no motivation, or even a hint at what his inner thoughts might be, just the act itself and abbreviated aftermath.

If you want a fantastical feel-good story about a smart kid who does something heartwarming for another kid, watch _The Blimp Trap_ (2016) instead. If you want a thriller, watch literally any other thriller. If you want a dumpster fire, watch _The Book of Henry_ (2017).