I think I agree with reviewer Carson Reeves when he said that the script didn't leave him with a lasting impression, and that it felt more like a daydream. For me I think that it could have been better if it had gone the daydream route all the way, but it felt as though halfway through it started to want to have a plot, and suffered for it.

I liked the bits in jail and the existentialism; Max is my favourite character, what with his way of saying things like: "Identities are just constructs, anyway. They're mistaken all the time."

(And I think the fish would have a field day with:

HENRY
I’m not an actor.

but they're fish, so what do they know.)

Regarding Henry - I wondered what Carson said when he mentioned that the role might be 'too introverted' even for Keanu, but yeah, I see what he means. Henry is a sort of blank canvas in the way that Keanu is, but with less versatility. Somehow it doesn't make for a particularly interesting person; he comes across as more of a foil for everyone else, which is unusual for a main character. His lines are generally devoid of any personality, the sort of dialogue that everyone probably says at some point or other of their life.

On the other hand, I like the idea of Henry as someone so lost in his thoughts that he's become sort of detached to everything else. I love the line:

"I used to sit in that toll booth and think about just getting in one of those cars, going wherever they went. Just joining someone else’s life."

There's the impression that Henry has been so caught up thinking of what could be that his own life has been neglected in that process, and the bank robbery is his attempt to get back the parts of himself that he lost. But this doesn't really come through in the script...

In terms of acting, playing Henry doesn't really seem like much of a stretch for Keanu or any actor, and the irony is that if he's played like he's written, he's going to come across as unemotional and dead inside and the critics would make bad jokes. If there's any point for Keanu to show that he can act, it's in the Cherry Orchard scenes, because Lophakin seems to be much more of an alive character than Henry is. Plus there's the audition scene. I'd like to see how that turns out.

Another part I like: When Henry enters the vault and just sits on the stacks of cash, in the silence. Doesn't last too long though.

Julia came across as slightly annoying at the start with her speech mannerisms, but with the right actress I guess she might turn out fine. Although it's kind of... disturbing how she was, at the end, effectively cajoled into being with some guy (Henry) whom she had already stated she didn't want to be with, just because he loved her. I thought there was something very stalkery about that. :\

Max described Henry at one point as: "A man who’s not afraid to create a new life and put his past behind him.", which for some reason seems to be a recurring theme for a lot of Keanu characters. The idea of redemption, or of starting over... Neo. Constantine. Conor. Shane. Nelson. Paul. Kevin. It's almost obsessive in how that pops up so often in his films.

Keanu's also mentioned on more than one occasion in a very vague way about how redemption isn't so easy in real life but how he's working on it (can't find the articles but they were there), which kind of made me wonder what he was referring to, and made me slightly paranoid about how maybe at least one of those people on Topix might be right about one or more of the various atrocities they have accused him of committing in his youth. There seems to be something he did in the past that is bothering him. :\

...But maybe I'm reading too much into it. Lastly, this bit sounded a lot like what he's said in interviews, about how he gets into character and such:

JULIE
It’s not really like that. I don’t
pretend to be someone else. I find some
part of me, and reveal it in a new
way...just inside of a character.
HENRY
So, in a way, you’re still playing ‘you’.
JULIE
Yes. Exactly. In a way.
HENRY
So what part of ‘you’ are you playing
now?
JULIE
That’s the question you always have to
ask yourself.

partly because the main character is sort of unusual. Apparently sleepwalking through life, letting life live him instead of him living it. and I liked the blank, cypher-like appearance... one can't 'read' Henry. He doesn't open up. I found this kind of refreshing - after so many lead characters with 'issues' we get nowadays. I see him as an illustration of the popular saying of the quiet waters running deep. He just lets things happen, build up... until he suddenly won't. until he takes charge of his own life and also of a defining moment of Julie's life, because he recognizes the need for an 'act of fate'. he's been there. now he can create such a moment for her. and she can take it or leave it.
but then, does she really have a choice ? Meet him in Moscow the audience chimes in. I just loved the humor of it. it's like the early Hwood movies...
I can see the traps of the script, but also the irony in it. And I want to see this film. it's so K humor that it has to be made. let the fish drown.

and yes, that part about acting caught my eye also.

and also the unexpected twist they put on the play's ending. this time, just this time, the cherry orchard will live.

I think it's also significant that of all heist-men, only Henry, the initiator of the plan, does not have a 'dream', not further than playing a bitter prank on life. it's Julie's dream which becomes his, and so he forces her to follow it. I guess there is something there...

there were a few scenes which made me snort with laughter, but that may be 'cause I have a twisted sense of humor.

and I like Max. a lot.
can't say I like Henry, though. it's first of all my analytic curiosity which makes me sit and watch and wait to see which is going to be his next reaction - or rather, non-reaction. I can be cruel that way.
... but after reading the script and starting to dissect it... it just hit me. maybe this story appeals to me so much because, in a way... I am Henry. at least the one in the first pages. I'm currently sitting in my toll booth, watching other people's lives online and sometimes joining them for a few moments... waiting for 'something' to snap me out of this and force me to make changes. the thought's disturbing, to say the least ...

later edit : at the second reading of the script, I noticed the symbolism of the poster for the play... interesting...

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Although it's kind of... disturbing how she was, at the end, effectively cajoled into being with some guy (Henry) whom she had already stated she didn't want to be with, just because he loved her. I thought there was something very stalkery about that. :\

---

first Passengers, then this.
Is someone developing a pattern here ?
*raises eyebrow*
;)

And then again, maybe K really is 'the nasty' - who but he knows, deep down?

As for Henry, I've been a toll booth operator, so I'm interested, I understand a lot of what Henry seems to be about ;).

later edit. : got as far as page 36-37. Whoa. Man. I know this book has been published in 1970, but still...

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as a side note, ref. the script - I just started reading "Future Shock" .

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http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wned/news.newsmain/article/1/0/1555530/WNED-AM.970.NEWS/Actor%27s.Jail.Visit.Drawing.Political.Heat

Actor's Jail Visit Drawing Political Heat
WNED News (2009-09-17)
BUFFALO (wned) - Actor Keanu Reeves' recent visit to Erie County's jails has turned into a political issue.

John Glasscott, the Democratic candidate in the November election for Erie County Sheriff, is calling on Sheriff Tim Howard to explain why the actor was allowed access while Justice Department officials have been blocked from continuing their investigation into conditions at the Erie County Holding Center and the Erie County Correctional Facility.

Last week, Erie County Attorney Cheryl Green detailed the county's rationale behind its refusal in a letter to federal officials. The letter said that the Justice Department was making "specious allegations."

Reeves visited the lockups as he sought film locations for an upcoming movie production.

The city of Buffalo is also cooperating with the film effort, allowing producers rent-free use of space at the Market Arcade building on Main Street. The worth of the incentive is estimated at $30,000.
© Copyright 2009, wned

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I do wonder if this political spectactle (for lack of a better word) will result in the HC crew not getting a location for the jail scenes. That'd be a big bummer, and the movie has already been pushed back from early November to late November. Anywoof, Our Man's "Hair-in-waiting" (I love it!) is making me willing to wait another month or so for the movie to start/finish.

On another note, Club Keanu had a video snippet from the Spärhusen premiere (oh, how I loved seeing how Our Man shook his head to get his bangs out of his sight), but it's now been removed from Youtube [i["due to a copyright claim by MyDamnChannel". Gawd, I'm glad I got to see it before it was removed. I don't enjoy papparazzi photos, but any official apperances of Our Man (especially with long hair - I just can't get past being a 90s heavy metal fan), is something I just enjoy. Immensely.