The Book of Henry

Synopsis: Sometimes things are not always what they seem, especially in the small suburban town where the Carpenter family lives. Single suburban mother Susan Carpenter works as a waitress at a diner, alongside feisty family friend Sheila. Her younger son Peter is a playful 8-year-old. Taking care of everyone and everything in his own unique way is Susan's older son Henry, age 11. Protector to his adoring younger brother and tireless supporter of his often self-doubting mother - and, through investments, of the family as a whole - Henry blazes through the days like a comet. Susan discovers that the family next door, which includes Henry's kind classmate Christina, has a dangerous secret - and that Henry has devised a surprising plan to help. As his brainstormed rescue plan for Christina takes shape in thrilling ways, Susan finds herself at the center of it.
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Director(s): Colin Trevorrow
Production: Focus Features
  1 win & 2 nominations.
 
IMDB:
6.5
Metacritic:
31
Rotten Tomatoes:
20%
PG-13
Year:
2017
105 min
$4,219,536
Website
2,402 Views


People are decent mostly.

I say mostly

because we all know

there are some

real pricks out there.

People are decent

because they never forget

how to reach out.

Now and then,

they'll even surprise you.

But then again,

sometimes they won't.

I wanna be remembered

as the awesomest

dodgeball player ever.

I wanna win an Olympic gold

medal in dodgeball.

This will make the world

a better place

'cause I'll inspire other kids

to be dodgeball champions.

And that's what I think

about my legacy.

Good, Tommy. A little basic,

but some solid grammar

and paragraph construction.

Well done.

Who wants to go next?

Henry?

Yeah.

We can all talk about

making our mark.

But, isn't it just

comfort food

to stave off

existential crisis?

I mean, in the end, Tommy,

you've gotta realize that...

dodgeball isn't even

an Olympic sport.

But... 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

while we're on this side

of the dirt.

And that's what I think

about my legacy.

Henry, remind me again

why we can't

put you in a gifted school.

'Cause it's better

for my psychosocial development

for me to interact

with a peer group

at a normal school

environment.

Yeah. Okay.

Thank you.

And so that's 3000

of TannenTech

at seventy-six with

a stop-loss at seventy?

And, you know what? Give me

ten Liffcom with Aluminad.

Two and a quarter.

Okay, yeah.

I think it'll work.

Let's just say

I've the benefit of being born

into a bull market.

Sorry, I'm late.

- Buckle up.

- Wrestle this backpack.

I really wish

you'd get a new car.

It's not like you can't

afford it or anything.

That isn't the point.

And besides...

There's nothing wrong

with the old car.

THE BOOK OF HENRY

Why won't you let me help?

I only broke one of them. Over.

Which led to

an electrical fire. Over.

Waffle irons are tricky. Over.

I just wish I could make

something like you do.

Okay, come on then.

- Okay, what do you wanna make?

- A flying trampoline.

You might wanna start small.

Rocket boots!

That's kinda hard too.

Okay, you have to build

in a fail-safe.

It's all about timing, set up,

covering every contingency.

One little miscalculation,

and the whole thing fails.

Like the waffle iron?

Waffle irons are tricky.

What if there are sharks?

Too shallow.

How about piranhas?

Indigenous to Africa.

Henry says,

"South America."

Fine,

South America.

But don't you worry,

if anything attacks you,

anything indigenous

to our region,

I'll be in here

in a flash.

Okay?

Okay.

- You okay?

- Yep.

Call out the capitals.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Easy.

Augusta, Maine.

Salem, Oregon.

Albany, New York.

Hey, mom, what is this charge

for $147.50 at Funtime Cove?

Bouncy castle

for Peter's birthday.

The one that smelled like feet.

Bismarck, North Carolina.

Isn't that one

of the other Norths?

Tallahassee, Florida.

Did our financial statement

come in the mail today?

- Juneau, Alaska.

- Yeah.

I forgot to give it to you.

You should really read it,

and know what it says.

- Annapolis, Maryland.

- Wrong.

Right.

Cheyenne, Wyoming.

You know it doesn't

actually help

when you lean into it

like that.

Sure it does.

Look at that.

Look at that!

So he dyed his coat

all the colors of the rainbow.

Then the other squirrels

were jealous and sorry

because he looked

punk rock awesome.

And they learned

that real coolness

isn't about the color

of your fur,

it's about what

you've got beneath it.

The end.

So?

It was well told.

Hey!

You try writing

and drawing something.

It's about something.

It's a metaphor.

It seems someone hasn't

grasped the blue squirrel's

moral of acceptance.

Young engineer award?

When did you get this one?

It's no big deal.

I'd be psyched

if I won that.

I wouldn't just toss it

in the corner.

You can have it.

Okay. Let's get your

little tushies into bed.

You think I'm running

a nightclub here?

Can we do movie night tomorrow?

I can't, hon.

I've got the dinner shift.

Mom, I told you,

you don't have to work anymore.

What do you mean she doesn't

have to work anymore?

Nothing.

I'm just saying, it,

it's not necessary.

Just stay home

and work on your storybooks.

I'm sorry.

Are you sure?

Because... I mean,

I don't wanna invade

your sense of personal space

or anything.

Mom!

Goodnight.

On or off?

- On.

- Off.

Open or closed?

- Open.

- Closed.

Yikes, it's hot.

- Hey, mom?

- Yeah.

- Double click here.

- Easy! It's expensive.

Then you download

the bank statement

directly into the program.

Who says you're not smart?

No one.

Show me

what I just taught you.

I'm not a child, Henry.

Show me.

Okay. That's enough.

Let's see.

You just deleted

last month.

You're not doing

that right.

- What?

- Here, mom.

Susan?

Great. It's Glenn.

Mr. Sickleman.

Susan?

Hey!

I was wondering,

would you mind

keeping an eye

on your lawn?

Your unraked leaves are blowing

over to my property.

It's just hard to keep up.

Okay.

Yeah, I'll try.

Sorry, Glenn.

- Hey, sweetie!

- Hi.

Come here.

Hey!

Look at you.

Hey!

Found this in the woods.

Little cops in training,

boys?

Sorry, to be a pain

about the leaves.

I know it doesn't seem like

Rate this script:5.0 / 1 vote

Gregg Hurwitz

Gregg Andrew Hurwitz is an American novelist, script writer and producer. Most of his novels are in the thriller fiction genre. His script writing work includes a film adaptation of his book Orphan X, a TV adaptation of Joby Warrick's Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS and a screenplay for the 2017 film The Book of Henry. He also has written a number of comic books for comic book publishers like DC Comics and Marvel Comics. more…

All Gregg Hurwitz scripts | Gregg Hurwitz Scripts

0 fans

Submitted on August 05, 2018

Discuss this script with the community:

0 Comments

    Translation

    Translate and read this script in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this screenplay to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "The Book of Henry" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/the_book_of_henry_19819>.

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest writers community and scripts collection on the web!

    Watch the movie trailer

    The Book of Henry

    Browse Scripts.com

    The Studio:

    ScreenWriting Tool

    Write your screenplay and focus on the story with many helpful features.