The Book of Henry
A wildly precocious 11 year old named Henry (Jaeden Lieberher) discovers his classmate and next door neighbor, Christina (Maddie Ziegler), is being abused by her stepfather (Dean Norris). Meanwhile, Henry’s mother Susan (Naomi Watts) is doing her best to keep up, but, tragedy always seems right around the corner, between Henry and brother Peter (Jacob Tremblay) Susan’s fight to keep the family above water might just reach a tipping point; how to forge a path forward? 
Told with creative zeal, Writer Gregg Hurwitz and Director Colin Trevorrow have created a dramatic adventure/thriller that wrestles with several heavy adult topics, mortality, child abuse, “good” parenting, alcoholism just to name a few. And, for the first two thirds of the film, this endearing story bounces along with many quick comedic quips and jabs as Henry, 11 going on 40, finds his own way in the world while questions of who’s parenting who, echo throughout. However, with the film’s final act, an over-reach in multiple capacities breaks the film’s balance and stride, ultimately watering down its recipe and losing impact. Regardless, performances from Lieberher and Tremblay are down right magical and still worthy of a matinee viewing or rental later. The Book of Henry is rated PG-13.