Colin Trevorrow didn’t expect negative The Book of Henry reviews

Colin Trevorrow is “hugely disappointed” by the negative reaction his latest film The Book of Henry has received.
The filmmaker and screenwriter is known for directing indie film Safety Not Guaranteed and blockbuster Jurassic World. He recently unveiled The Book of Henry, which tells the story of an elaborate plan hatched by a young genius to save the girl next door from abuse.
But Trevorrow’s latest project has been slated by critics, garnering a 22 per cent rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, which he admits to have found “shocking”.
“It came to us as a bit of a shock,” he told the Empire Podcast. “We did not anticipate that level of vitriolic dislike for the film. In the end, do I want to be somebody who pleases both audiences and critics? Absolutely. Is that hugely disappointing? It is.”
The Book of Henry, which stars Naomi Watts, Jaeden Lieberher and Jacob Tremblay, has been criticised for its confusing narrative threads, with Variety critic Owen Gleiberman describing it as “awkwardly mashing together compelling individual elements” and Vulture writer Emily Yoshida condemning its “flamboyant terribleness”.
In response to the reviews, Trevorrow said that it was a “little heartbreaking” to receive such harsh criticism, especially as audiences in preview screenings had shown a variety of reactions, and it had “affected” viewers in the expected way.
In spite of the reviewers’ comments, the director stated that he is still “very proud” of the movie and encourages people to go and see it in the cinema to make their own decision.
And he also pondered whether his status in Hollywood as a big picture director, having been tapped to direct the upcoming Star Wars: Episode IX and produce and write Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, is partly to blame for the disappointment shared.
“What I may have underestimated is how my visibility as somebody who is responsible for two things that we all care about deeply, and are massive parts of our public consciousness and shared mythology – how that level of visibility would shine a spotlight on this in a way that I hadn’t considered,” he said.