The Book of Henry Blog

The only blog dedicated to the most amazing movie ever!

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Top 5 Saddest TBOH scenes

5. How the world changed after Henry died

Right after his death we get to see a couple of scenes showing the characters doing normal stuff like going to school or working but you can clearly see the sadness and pain in their faces. Along with the emotional music it creates a very depressing atmosphere that puts a lot of pressure both on the audience and the characters.

4. Susan finds the audio tape

After you get over the fact that Henry is not around anymore... the movie fucks you up again. Hearing his voice again while the amazing music is playing in the background and realizing that he sacrificed what remained of his time to help the people around him make you sad and proud at the same time.

3. Henry's last conversation with Peter

Can we just give these two actors (Jaeden Lieberher and Jacob Tremblay) all the praise in the world for their absolutely authentic performances? I have a hard time remembering the last time I saw such an emotionally complicated scene acted this perfectly. Watching Henry talk to his brother about his own death that is soon to come is simply heartbreaking.

2. Henry's final speech

I'd call you a liar if you told me that Susan finishing her journey to acceptance and burning Henry's notebook while we hear his words for the last time didn't make you tear up. It's like a combination of relief and sadness. Henry's words once again have a philosophical meaning that applies to so many peoples' lives even though they don't know about it. 

It’s not my story anymore... it’s yours. - Henry Carpenter 

Honorable mention: Peter's lament

Before I reveal the top pick (I mean we all know what's coming but anyway) I got one honorable mention. The scene where Peter deals with his existential crisis wishing he had died instead of Henry truly shows how fucked up things are in this world :(

1. Henry dies

Let me start by saying that I absolutely hate this scene. Why? Because the first time I saw it it destroyed me. And you know what? The second time it got even worse. Aaand you know what? Every freaking time I watch this scene it makes me cry so hard that I'm surprised where the tears are still coming from. Honestly just writing about it makes me sad so I better stop now. This scene can't even be properly described by words anyway so if you got plenty of tissues go ahead and watch it to experience that ultimate devastation yourself.

Tell me in the comments below if you agree/disagree with my picks. Thanks for reading :)

[thebookofhenry2017]

I FREAKING WATCHED THIS MOVIE BECAUSE OF JAEDEN AND I THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO BE SO CUTE AND I WAS SO EXCITED BUT NOW HERE I AM STILL CRYING BECAUSE IT WAS SO SAD AND I CANT HANDLE IT

Hey I felt exactly the same way and there are only a few movies that ever made me feel this sad and heartbroken. I still loved every second of it because even though it’s filled with so much sadness and melancholy it is done in a beautiful way. It makes you think about what’s important in life and reminds you that nothing lasts forever. Anyway if you’re still sad go watch something fun or read something cheerful. I hope you feel happier soon ❤️❤️❤️

[thebookofhenry2017]

Does TBoH have a happy ending?

This seemingly very simple question is not that easy to answer.

Okay so let's break it down what the ending means and how to think about it.So before the finale, we have the following things that need a proper resolution:

1. Someone needs to deal with Glen abusing Christina.

2. Susan and Peter need to get over Henry's death.

3. Susan needs to "grow up" and start taking care of her family.

Now the question is how it's gonna happen. Once Susan starts following Henry's instructions there are really only two possibilities - she either takes the shot or she doesn't. At first, I thought the most logical scenario would be her taking the shot and thus proving that Henry was right. This, however, is no good for Susan's character - she pretty much did everything Henry had told her to do. Then what? I kinda doubt he wrote instructions how to live her entire life. She needs to get used to the fact that Henry is not around anymore and start making her own decisions. And you know to kill or not to kill that is the question is a pretty good dilemma to start with. Now, we know that Susan doesn't like violence so if the decision was up to her she'd never even come close to considering something like shooting the bad guy. Her son's decision on the other hand based on his research would be to take the shot in a perfect way so that nobody ever finds out it was him. When the big moment comes and Susan is ready to pull the trigger photos of Peter and Henry suddenly appear. They symbolize the fact that even someone as smart as her oldest son was "just a child" and what he thinks and says is NOT always the ultimate truth (but you can't deny that a lot of times it is). Meanwhile, you have his recording still playing in the background telling her to shoot. This creates the perfect scenario for Susan to finally decide what she wants to do and then face the consequences. Fun that when you think about it there's much more behind it than what you thought the first time you saw it, right? :)

Okay let's take a look at how it turned out:

1. Someone needs to deal with Glen abusing Christina.

- Glen committed suicide and Christina is now with Susan and Peter

2. Susan and Peter need to get over Henry's death.

- Susan burned the audiotape and the book which symbolizes that she's ready to move on. Peter did his magic trick and seemed quite relieved so I guess he is ready to go forward without him.

3. Susan needs to "grow up" and start taking care of her family.

- We see her return to her job and finish another book while she does great being a parent.

At this point, you could simply say yes it does have a happy ending since everything has ended the best and happiest way possible.

BUT....

how about we look at it from a different perspective and compare it to the beginning of the movie?

1. We're introduced a really sympathetic child genius who excels at everything he does. His intellect combined with his personality makes it very easy for the audience to cheer for him.

2. We also see that he lives in a happy family that thanks to him has plenty of money. His younger brother looks up to him and his mother does everything she can to be a great parent. He's also respected in school mostly for his unconventional and out of the book philosophical thinking.

3. He kind of likes his neighbor Christina and if you look carefully you can tell that she probably also likes him. There's a great potential for a future relationship.

... and then what we're left with at the end?

1. The really sympathetic child genius has died in an extremely heartbreaking way.

2. The happy family is still very sad about it.

3. And that potential is obviously no longer present.

So was it a happy ending?

My personal answer is that compared to the beginning it was sad as f*ck. Compared to the situation the characters were in after Henry died it was the happiest ending possible although when compared to other dramas' endings it was still sad as f*ck.

Let me know if you agree with this approach and whether or not you consider it "happy".

[itchierichie-deactivated2022083]

I’m watching the Book of Henry because it has Jacob Tremblay and Jaeden Lieberherr in it and they are great and it starts out so nice and adorable and halfway through I’m sitting in a dark room and sobbing… The trailer said they were going to rescue a girl from her abusive stepfather. The trailer fucking lied and I’m hearbroken. Did not sign up for this

[thebookofhenry2017]

I totally understand how you feel. It hurts but maybe that's why it's such a unique and unforgettable experience. And it has a great point - you never know what happens next. Hope you feel happier soon! Sending u hugs :)

[mgandim]

The Book of Henry (2017)

I’m shook. It has been a while since I cried mad while watching a movie. The Book of Henry is a film that will make you hold your breath for a minute and make you release with a great pleasure. I love everything about this film. This is a masterpiece! I dare you to watch it! The soundtrack, the cast, and everything is on POINT! I have a very important thing in 16 days that will decide my life, but I don’t regret at all about watching this film and don’t feel like I wasted my time in this critical period. One of my all time favorite films for sure. 

Henry Carpenter is an 11 year old genius who lives with his mom and adorable brother Peter. Henry tries to save his neighbor and classmate Christina from her abusive stepfather Glenn Sickleman; however, Henry turns out to have a brain tumor and dies not long after. T.T This is so far one of the most emotional parts of the film. I was sobbing throughout. Because they were living in a small town, and Sickleman was a prominent figure in the town with his connection, there seemed to be no way to help Christina. While Henry was on his deathbed, he concludes that the only way to save poor Christina is to murder her stepfather. Thus, Henry writes a meticulous plan in his book of the murder. Susan, Henry and Peter’s mother, decides to continue Henry’s plan after witnessing the abuse of her neighbor. Nevertheless, in the end, Susan realizes that she’s an adult and backs out. Right in the same time, the school principle decides to report the abuse, and when the police comes in front of his house, Glenn kills himself. This part was a little fairy-taily, but it was still nice to see Henry’s incentives realize. Also, I know that adopting a kid is a very tricky business, but somehow Christina got adopted by her neighbors. That didn’t made sense, though. She must have relatives or someone. Still, I loved how everything turned out happily ever after.  

“Our legacy isn’t what we write on our resume or how many commas we have in our account. It’s who we’re lucky enough to have in our lives and what we can leave them with. The one thing we do know, we’re here now. So I say we do the best we can, and that’s what I think about my legacy.”

-Henry Carpenter

Nov 16, 2017

[thebookofhenry2017]

Awesome review! Just for clarification Christina apparently didn't have any other relatives - that's why she was living with her stepfather. Also, Glen specifically said that he didn't know what would happen with Christina in case something happened to him. Later you see Susan trying to fake Glen's signature. If you connect all these pieces together you can see that Susan adopting Christina isn't that unrealistic after all. And Glen's suicide didn't seem fairy-taily to me. Glen wasn't that black and white type of a villain who doesn't give a crap. I think he felt somewhat guilty about what he was doing all the time. When he learned that the principal had reported the abuse he immediately knew he was going to jail. And since he didn't want that he instead decided to let his guilt overwhelm him and committed suicide. That's my interpretation.

[thebookofhenry2017]

TBoH Soundtrack Analysis

Okay, so the soundtrack of TBoH is a whole new topic to talk about. It's not just a bunch of seemingly random notes that are only there to fill the space where nobody says anything. It's a masterpiece full of beautiful and emotional moments just like the movie itself.

Overture / Treehouse Inventions:

These are the first two tracks. Overture starts with introducing the 4-chord pattern that in some form follows you through the entire album. There's that unconventional change from F minor to F major that adds an interesting feel to it. Then you can hear a very original melody that captures everything the movie's about at the beginning. The same one is used in Treehouse Inventions only with a few changes. "Inventions" is probably the best word to describe both of them - you can vividly imagine the brilliant young mind exploring the world and inventing new stuff. What I especially love about it is that it's one of those universal melodies. It appears on the album several times and every single time it has a different subtext.

Research and Development:

Another one of the more colossal pieces. The title describes it perfectly. The song itself has a cool Development. Starts as a quiet one-note pattern and gets to a monumental climax adding more layers of instruments in the process. Similarly to Overture, this theme is also used more than once.

Henry's Final Wish:

This is probably the most emotional one - might also be because of the scene it's attached to. I mean just reading its name makes me feel sad, let alone listening to it, LET ALONE watching the scene!!! The shocking thing comes when you realize how simple it is. You can separate it into two parts. The first one begins when Henry is about to... you know... and it consists of whole notes only. What's even more surprising is that the bass line never changes - it's an F all the time. As the melody goes higher and higher along with the harmony adding more power and creating tension and drama what's inevitable becomes obvious - and then it comes - one chord associated with one moment... and plenty of tissues ;(  Then it slows down in terms of intensity but not in terms of melancholy. There're echoes... short patterns of sudden bass tones that slowly fade away only to come back with even sadder progressions. Wow! I love how this showcases how hard dying is - especially when the person dying is someone you truly care about.

Target Practice:

At first, this seems like a slightly slower version of Overture - the melody is exactly the same maybe with a few changes and it's in the same key. There's however, a big difference - when you hear this song in the movie Henry's not alive anymore - and you WILL feel it. That's also why this theme is so awesome - just change a few instruments and slow it down and all of a sudden you got a new song that tells a new story. Simply brilliant!

Christina's dance:

I love how this one is so different than the rest of the soundtrack. I'm currently trying to learn the mentioned songs on piano and this is probably the hardest one of them. It's an interesting paradox that there're only like 2 chords (yes that's right for the most part) and yet it has so many notes and layers. It's also probably the only one that has moments that aren't... pleasurable to ears - yes I'm talking about the middle part with that giant cacophonic mess (not meant in a bad way - it serves its purpose as it undeniably creates incredible tension but it's not something you'd voluntarily listen to every day).

Into the Fire/Closing the Book of Henry:

Along with Henry's Final Wish, this one will break your heart. It's the third time you hear the main theme (Overture) this time with a bittersweet taste. It sounds sad and happy at the same time which is EXACTLY what the ending was. Seriously all you need in your life is a piano and a violin. This time it's in the key of G major which adds a new touch to it. If you want to learn some of the pieces this one is the easiest one and it sounds absolutely wonderful. On or off? Open or closed?

Part 2 may be coming...

[thebookofhenry2017]

The Book of Henry 2017 Edit - Three Stories - YouTube

The Book of Henry is a beautiful movie full of truly heartbreaking scenes. At first I wasn’t quite sure whether or not I should make this video. But after I ...

[thebookofhenry2017]

Random 10 things I love about The Book of Henry:

1. The beautiful soundtrack

I mean like seriously how can you not fall in love with Giacchino's happy melodies? ... and then cry a river as they turn into painfully sad ones?

2. It's an emotional rollercoaster

Here you got a few minutes of cute/romantic/happy family moments, then you got a few minutes of funny/hilarious scenes only to see something completely heartbreaking happen. Overwhelmed by all the emotions during the movie I found myself laughing and crying at the same time which is something that really doesn't happen to me every day.

3. The thought-provoking ending

So was it Henry's plan all along? Did he really go that far? Or does the ending prove that even Henry was just a human being who can make mistakes? Even if he had planned the whole thing the way it happened how could he know the principal would make the call that resulted in Glen committing suicide? Was it just what it was? Was there something I missed? Was it even a happy ending? See where I'm going with this?

4. Some philosophical lines

Violence isn't the worst thing in the world. What is then? Apathy.

Our legacy isn’t what we write on our resume or how many commas we have in our bank account. It’s who we’re lucky enough to have in our lives and what we can leave them with. The one thing we do know, we’re here now. So I say we do the best we can, and that’s what I think about my legacy. - this one especially wow... that's some really clever writing ... or am I the only one who sees the entire movie in this very quote?

5. It is creative and unique

Everyone in Henry's family has some very interesting character traits. Nothing feels recycled or forced. The plot contains multiple twists that completely change the way the movie's going. It combines elements of various movie genres which gives it a very fresh feel.  

6. It's one of those few movies that made me cry (a lot!!!)

Especially all the scenes in the hospital and that speech at the end ;(

7. The movie's got balls

I love how it doesn't give a damn about all these pseudo-rules about what movies should be like. It's not afraid to show a cruel death of a child on camera. It's not afraid to switch genres and make unconventional steps. And yet it's still absolutely authentic - similarly to life, you either accept it or you don't.

8. It symbolically captures real-life dilemmas

To kill or not to kill that is the question. The point is that this movie is not exactly about one thing. It doesn't focus on some fictional problems in an isolated universe. It presents you a story that contains many little pieces of what we have to deal with on a daily basis. Making tough decisions and facing the consequences. You feel like you should do something because it seems to be the right thing to do. If you don't you'll feel bad for being apathetic. If you do, you'll feel bad 'cause you did something you consider morally wrong. What would you do?

9. Susan's character development

Seriously! Look at her at the beginning what she was like: childish, incapable of living without Henry, struggling with making her own decisions, unsure of her views and opinions.

...and then at the end: grown-up, absolutely capable of living without Henry, making good decisions, positive about her views and opinions.

This kinda proves my theory that Susan's arc is the most important one because the movie is about her (not Henry as everybody thought). Think about it: she's the only one who needs to change - without her brilliant boy, she wouldn't be able to do a thing. Throughout the movie, you can see her real personality slowly (re)form - to the already mentioned final state at the end. So if I had to choose the core character it all revolves around I'd go with Susan. This reminds me of one thing - I stated that TBoH could also be a coming of age movie - what actually fits it more is a “coming back into age” movie (although that genre doesn't exist (yet!)).  

10. It's well told

And by that, I mean not just Susan's fairy tale haha. From A to Z it feels very logically put together, it doesn't have a scene that wouldn't belong there, and the way it's done it keeps your attention for the entire runtime.