David Mamet is back after an over-decade-long absence with the film adaptation of his 2023 play Henry Johnson. The film opens with Johnson (Evan Jonigkeit) petitioning his boss Mr. Barnes (Chris Bauer) to hire a convict eligible for parole. Barnes questions Johnson’s motives and digs further into his relationship with this man, a former “friend” from college. Barnes is pseudo aggressive in this pursuit and the reason reveals itself as the scene progresses.
We next see Johnson in prison sharing a cell with Gene (Shia LaBeouf). Similar to the prior scene, Gene takes the alpha dog role as Johnson quizzically stares and occasionally attempts to chime in with varied success. He seems to not only be lacking street smarts, but his own convictions about most topics. Johnson is the type of person that can be preyed on, an easy target. It seems like most people he interacts with can quickly see that, and many take advantage.
Mamet both wrote and directed Henry Johnson. Mamet has an extensive film catalogue featuring adaptations of plays he has penned. In the same vein as Henry Johnson, a majority of projects Mamet has directed come from his writings. He has a unique style present in his works most notably featuring quick and sharp dialogue. However just because someone monologues or a conversation has a rapid back and forth doesn’t mean there is a lot of substance worth listening to.
The entire film felt like a play, but not in a good way. Henry Johnson never took advantage of all that switching to film offers. Mamet keeps the film to four scenes across three locations. The minimalism continues with a cast that can be counted on one hand. Granted when entires scenes are filled with one character pontificating for 3/4 of the time a large cast isn’t necessary.
The performances themselves were solid, highlighted by LaBeouf and Bauer. The film starts fairly interestingly, but quickly devolves. Before long it becomes people the audience isn’t truly invested in talking about things that may not resonate with the masses. More importantly, the interactions just don’t seem organic and believable, ruining the atmosphere Mamet & co. are working to create. A little more character development and utilizing opportunities film provides over live theater would have gone a long way. Unfortunately, Henry Johnson falls short and ends up not being worth a watch.
