Review of 'The Wonderful World of Henry Sugar'
Henry Sugar (Benedict Cumberbatch), not his real name, has a gambling habit that discovers a book, ZZ Chatterjee's (Dev Patel) 1935 report telling the story of Imdad Khan (Ben Kingsley), a man who can see perfectly even if his eyes or covered. Sugar realizes he can use this skill to cheat in gambling so follows the instructions conveyed by Khan to Chatterjee.
In true Wes Anderson style, this quirky short breaks the fourth wall right at the beginning with the characters frequently talking to the camera to the point of distraction (“I said”, really?). The washed out colours further adds the odd “mis-en-scene” along with the fun sets which sees scenery moved about the screen as if it was on the stage. In another meta note, we are introduced to the film by none other than the story's author Roald Dahl (Ralph Fiennes) and, of course, the rest of the cast are incredible, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ben Kingsley, Dev Patel and British comedian Richard Ayoade.
A fun and bizarre short film by the master of bizarre where the style threatens to overwhelm the story but in this case seems oddly in tune with it.
Rating: “I have absolutely no complaints”
Review Date: 2023-10-21
Directed by: Wes Anderson
Studio: American Empirical Pictures
Year: 2023
Length: 37 minutes
Genre: Melodrama
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16968450/
Other reviewed films by Wes Anderson:
- The Darjeeling Limited (2007)
- The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
- Isle of Dogs (2018)