Just Henry

It's sad that reviewers love to say 'Nothing like the book!'. If you want to read the book, then read it and don't write a movie review! If you want to watch a film that portrays complex emotional conflict at many different levels in a sensitive and realistic way, and if you are tired of formulaic and over-acted Hollywood trash, find an opportunity to watch this fine TV movie. This film deals with emotions and emotional conflicts - in adults and in children - in a very real-life (as opposed to synthetic Hollywood) manner. An ageing mother's wistful love for a departed son and hatred for the man who is taking his place in her daughter-in-law's life, the son with a misty and idealised memory of a father he can hardly remember,and the whole post-war era of trying to put bad memories behind and start afresh. There is moving and believable acting from the young (such as Charlie May-Clark as the uneducated but very savvy schoolgirl) and the old (the inimitable Sheila Hancock as the awful old gran). Ultimately, it is film of hope: of the losers finding their way to win and of the thoroughly bad getting their come uppance. If you want a film that engages you emotionally and leaves you feeling positive and optimistic, give this a try.