"The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar" Review

Wes Anderson is one of the biggest directors in Hollywood. Netflix is one of the biggest streaming platforms. Roald Dahl is a name that is as easily recognized as Benedict Cumberbatch or Dev Patel. So what do you get when you put them all together? A collection of short films directed by Anderson based on some iconic stories of Dahl. The first one of four came out on Sept. 27 titled "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar."

Henry Sugar is a rich bachelor who uses his wealth to gamble. One day, he finds a book in the library and finds an outlandish skill; there was once a man who could see without his eyes. He immediately sets off to learn how to do this to cheat at gambling and make more money.

After three years of practicing, it works. He ends up making £30,000 but feels unsatisfied. When he throws the money he gets into the street and almost causes a riot, he decides to use his new skill for more charitable causes.

One stand-out part of "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar" is how the dialogue is performed. The actors all spoke in a quick manner that was very satisfying to listen to. They all read their lines like how a book would be read out loud. So every "I said…" or “He said…” or description of what their character was doing would be spoken to the audience instead of shown. The fourth wall was almost always broken because of this. Their faces held limited expressions too, because of the way that they were told to the spectators and again, not shown.

The set for this film was very theatrical. There were many visible moving parts when changing from scene to scene, which made the movie flow better, especially when there were still lines being spoken and actions being described. It felt like there was a lot more effort put into the set design than if the set were to just have stationary parts. It was easier to appreciate the hard work that was put into it.

Overall it’s an interesting watch in terms of diverting from the production “norm.” But maybe that’s just a Wes Anderson thing. Having it on Netflix makes it highly accessible to watch as well. Not to mention the stacked cast that made Anderson’s vision come to life. "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar" is a cute story, but having Anderson come in and write, direct and co-produce made it into a short that should be seen by film lovers and all.

Rating: 4/5

Chloe Rey is a second-year majoring in telecommunications. To contact her, email ckr5449@psu.edu.