The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

Name: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
Director: Wes Anderson
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Comedy, Drama
Released: 2023
Duration: 37 min
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Ralph Fiennes

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Adventure
Fantasy

2023
Wes Anderson
37 mins
PG

Summary

A quirky short film written and directed by Wes Anderson boldly realises Roald Dahl's fantastical fiction included in the 1977 collection The Wonderful Story Of Henry Sugar. Avid gambler Henry Sugar (Benedict Cumberbatch) learns about a novelty circus act, who has honed the ability to see through solid objects such as playing cards. The so-called The Man Who Sees Without Using His Eyes dies and leaves behind a notebook, which purportedly contains secret techniques to performing feats of foresight. Henry spends years finessing these powers and he tests them in casinos by correctly predicting numbers on a roulette wheel. Denied the adrenaline rush of potentially losing his stake, Henry tires of cheating the system and pledges instead to exploit his ability for the benefit of others

IMDB

Review

A star rating of 4 out of 5.

Jayne Nelson

When Wes Anderson made Fantastic Mr Fox in 2009, he asked Roald Dahl's family if he could also adapt a story he'd loved since the age of seven. Many years later, we have The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar. Clocking in at a tidy 41 minutes, the short film opens with Ralph Fiennes playing Dahl, resplendent in his famous writing shed, regaling us with the tale of rich gambler Henry Sugar (Benedict Cumberbatch). Using Dahl's own words, Sugar himself then recounts the story of his encounter with Ben Kingsley's Imdad Khan, a man who can "see without using his eyes". Anderson pairs this Russian doll approach to storytelling with creative set pieces, stagecraft, sound design and, yes, that colour palette. The result is captivating. But that's not all! The film is joined by a further three precisely made Dahl shorts from Anderson, all with the same cast: Poison, The Rat Catcher and The Swan. Wonderful stories indeed.

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7.4/10