In the bonus track of the DVD of "The Book of Henry," the director Colin Trevorrow described how the narrative was "breaking all the rules of screen writing." Indeed, it broke the rules so badly that the results were disastrous to the degree that this may be a new low in Hollywood filmmaking.

The broken rules led to a movie with that was split in half. The first part tells the story of an eleven-year-old kid who is a genius. He is so far advanced both intellectually and emotionally that he manages the tawdry and troubled life of his mother, plus attempts an intervention with the girl next door who is apparently being abused by her stepfather. This strand of the story stretches credibility beyond belief, especially in the family dynamic of the single mom, a waitress and wannabe writer of children's stories, and the two little boys. It doesn't help that the girl next door, who is a schoolmate in the same class as Henry, looks at least five years older than the little genius.

But nothing can prepare the viewer for the ridiculous second half of the film, wherein the narrative takes a turn towards a mystery-suspense story. The child prodigy is killed off by cancer, yet leaves detailed instructions for his mother on how to kill the next door neighbor by committing the perfect crime.

This far-fetched and stupid screenplay was an abomination.

In the cast interviews section on the DVD, actress Naomi Watts described her character's co-dependent relationship with little Henry by using fractured English grammar: "He grows her up," says Watts, and this takes the form of little Henry managing the affairs of his incompetent mom and caring for his little brother in the absence of a responsible parent. Watts' character, Susan Carpenter, whiles away her life with video games, cavorting with her lazy, alcoholic co-worker, and preparing a meal that is comprised exclusively of desserts. The film makes no mention of the father of the two little boys. Of course, it doesn't, as it breaks all of the rules of screen writing.

The filmmakers were obviously unaware that Susan Carpenter's behavior was so appalling that she was just as culpable of child abuse as Mr. Sickleman next door. Not only does Susan's character get a free pass, but she is even awarded custody of a new child by the end of the film. Trapped in a perpetual infantile state, Susan is incapable of functioning in an adult world. One has to feel sorry for the kind doctor who was attracted to Susan. Little does he know what lies ahead for him in that relationship, especially when she gets going in the kitchen.

The screenplay is also filled with one-liners that not only lack credibility, but lapse into comedy. Susan tells her younger son prior to the school talent show, "Don't panic, stay calm, and remember your Lamaze breathing." The producers appearing on the bonus track of the DVD tried to hype the film as a study of good versus evil and the triumph of the "human spirit." But it was a triumph of the human spirit for the audience members to get through this stinker without resorting to Lamaze breathing techniques in response to a sleazy and jaw-droppingly bad piece of cinema.

Henry Carpenter (Jaeden Lieberher) is the smartest person in his world. He protects his little brother Peter (Jacob Tremblay) and makes money in the stock market. His single mother Susan Carpenter (Naomi Watts) is clueless about finances. She plays video games and works as a waitress although she doesn't have to with Henry's earnings. Fellow waitress Sheila (Sarah Silverman) is her best friend. Henry's classmate Christina (Maddie Ziegler) lives next door directly opposite his bedroom window. He suspects that she's being abused by her well-connected father Glenn Sickleman (Dean Norris). He gets sick and brought to the hospital to be treated by Dr. David Daniels (Lee Pace). He puts a plan to save Christina into his book.

This starts as a quirky coming-of-age story. Henry is too perfect and too quirky. It's a bit flat and one wonders if this movie is going anywhere when the story blows up. The movie continues on a crazy off ramp. There are leaps of logic and reason. For example, the smaller unreality is John firing Susan for some idiotic reason. There are bigger examples but those are more spoiler. The story is pushing so hard that it goes over the cliff. Writer Gregg Hurwitz is injecting a lot of over-the-top comic book logic into an indie world that doesn't want it.

If someone needed a script on how to do things ... it seems Naomi Watts character would be one of the first to come to mind. Her oldest kid seems to run the place and he is overly intelligent. Of course that does not mean that he is free of issues and problems ... though he seems fast to resolve many of them.

Apart from the fact that the actor in this is really good (another child actor on his way to rise and fame) and was also in the IT remake, we have a stellar supporting cast. And a really good script on top of that. You may see a couple more flaws or decide to overlook them, but it really is heart breaking and touches ones soul. Now it is not consistent all the way through, but it's still more than decent enough and moving ...