Wes Anderson is considered one of the best directors working today. He has made some amazing films including Moonrise Kingdom and The Grand Budapest Hotel as well as the stop-motion animated film The Fantastic Mr. Fox based on the Roald Dahl story. With The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, he once again tackles a Roald Dahl story. This one might be more divisive than the last one though.

This film is a forty-five minute short which is part of an anthology film. I was only able to see the short though so that’s all I can review at this time. It’s a story within a story within a story. The film first shows the viewers, narrated by Ralph Fiennes as Roald Dahl,  that Henry Sugar (Benedict Cumberbatch) has a unique power to see things without using his eyes. He uses his mind. He got this power by following a man named Imdad Khan (Ben Kingsley). He uses it to cheat in poker games. Until he gets a change of heart.

Anderson has an interesting way of filming his movies. He has impeccable production design.  Which gives his film a specific look like no other directing films today. As a wink to the audience he actually has set pieces moving and actors stepping in and out of various stage settings. It’s him trying to show the audience a little about his process when filming one of his movies. Once again though Anderson has a knack for creating a beautiful mix of practical sets as well as visual effects. It’s seamless how he works the two together in his films. In this movie he shows us the houses of Dahl,Cumberbatch’s character,a hospital, and the various locations that Kingley’s character visits and lives in the movie.

Roald Dahl stories aren’t necessarily for everyone. In the past James and the Giant Peach, Matilda,and many others have come to the big screen and small. This is one of the more obscure titles in his authorship. At first glance it might seem a bit interesting but in hindsight it drags, even though it’s only forty five minutes long.. The dialogue is delivered in a drab monotone way. It almost put me to sleep while watching the film. I just feel like there needed to be more emotions in the delivery of the dialogue. This seems to be the way things are going in Anderson films these days. The dialogue is very monotonous. 

The Wonderful Life of Henry Sugar is a film that if it had the other parts of the anthology might have made more sense regarding the story. Even though the story was pretty straightforward the dialogue was delivered very monotonously. Which in turn made the film feel very slow and boring to me. As always the production design and sets and so forth are gorgeous and the wink of the eye Anderson gives the viewers is a nice touch. I just feel this wasn’t his best work and he seems to be moving backwards as a filmmaker.

This Short Film Airs on Netflix September 27th 2023

2 stars

Dan Skip Allen