Unfortunately, this persona led him to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and he ended up on the losing side of a gun. Green was shot three times at point-blank range and rushed to the local hospital, where he flatlined three times before being placed into a medically induced coma.
Green walks us through every detail, and like all great storytellers, he is able to highlight the various ironies, connections, and metaphors within his own tale. He even provides moments of comic relief at his expense.
Throughout, the camera’s intimate placement gives the audience the perspective of a personal conversation with this young man, drawn in as he casually, yet expertly crafts his story. There is the occasional cutaway to a personal picture or two, or footage of his rehabilitative training, but otherwise, we are eye to eye with Green, dressed in a black t-shirt, sitting in front of a bookshelf with muted colors as not to distract from his story.
“The movie’s unflinching, intense intimacy shows us the charisma that would lead Green to excel on stage.”
Dest adds an unobtrusive slide-guitar-led score, courtesy of Philly-based musician Solomon Silber and produced by Evan Bakke (formerly the personal recording engineer for Prince). It merely serves to echo Green’s hardscrabble upbringing and never takes away from its message.
The movie’s unflinching, intense intimacy shows us the charisma that would lead Green to excel on stage. Originally filmed in 2017, the film has been re-released with a tragic coda, as Green’s body rejected its transplanted organs following his gunshot wounds. And while his life was extinguished far too early, his message should live on, as it is certainly one shared by others who feel the same seemingly insurmountable odds stacked against them.
“The bullet saved me,” Green notes with all intended irony. I Am Shakespeare: The Henry Green Story could be a step in doing the same for any number of young men and women who can see themselves in Green’s expressive eyes staring directly at them.
Editor’s Note: Film Threat thought it would be fitting to include a review from Henry’s mother with ours.
"…its true narrative thrust lies not in flashy graphics or recreations but within the power of the spoken word. "
