THE WONDERFUL STORY OF HENRY SUGAR is Wes Anderson’s latest creative endeavor. It is a mere 39 minutes of recreating one of Roald Dahl’s exquisite tales exactly as originally written. It is, in one word, spectacular.
TWSOHS is colorful beyond your wildest imagination. It is quirky, extremely fast-paced, and hilarious. The precious 4th wall is broken while the story is told to the viewers as if they are sitting directly across the room. Sets come and go with lightning speed and are moved by a lone stagehand. Costumes and makeup changes are made right in front of our eyes. It is all a visual delight with sprinkles of the unexpected.
The cast of TWSOHS was phenomenal. It boasts the extraordinary acting talents of Benedict Cumberbatch, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes, and Dev Patel. Their monologues flew by with rapid speed. I am still unsure how they memorized it and could fire it away with such no-nonsense emotional depth. It was an example of finely tuned, masterful actors converging in one short film. Brilliant.
Combining the genius of Dahl and Anderson was sheer perfection. My brain was blown away by the “simple” telling of this feature. It was fun, abundantly entertaining, and memorable. There is power in “short” filmmaking. THE WONDERFUL STORY OF HENRY SUGAR is a lesson for us all, both in real life and in the world of directing films. Don’t miss this movie. It is worth every second. It is available to stream on NETFLIX.
