What’s up with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, filmmaker and author David Mamet, known for writing “Glengarry Glen Ross”? Well, the artist has not directed a film since 2008’s martial arts film “Redbelt,” though there has been no shortage of plays written and screenplays penned based on those stageplays.
The latest stage-to-screen pipeline is “Henry Johnson,” a play he wrote in 2023 that Mamet has adapted into a movie.
Starring Evan Jonigkeit (“The Night House”), Chris Bauer (“True Blood”), Dominic Hoffman (“Suits: LA”), and Shia LaBeouf (“Megalopolis”), who all reprise their roles from the stage play “Henry Johnson” is a prison drama about a man who seeks his moral compass while meeting authority figures, including his future cellmate Gene.
Mamet has been moving an increasingly right-wing in recent years, supporting Trump, claiming the 2020 election loss to Joe Biden was stolen, questioning gun control laws, becoming extremely Zionist, claiming teachers are hurting children and school and prone to other theories which may be one of the reasons Hollywood seems to have forgotten him.
And maybe this is why “Henry Johnson” looks like it’s being self-released with a small opening—Friday, May 9, at The Aero Theatre in Los Angeles, and available to Rent on HenryJohnsonMovie.com—though it’s expected to expand into further markets that same month.
Mamet has earned Academy Award nominations for his screenplays of “Wag the Dog” and “The Verdict.” His feature film directorial credits include “The Spanish Prisoner,” “Oleanna,” “House of Games,” “State and Main,” “Heist,” “Spartan, “The Winslow Boy,” “Redbelt” and “Phil Spector.”
Here’s the official synopsis:
Written and directed by Pulitzer Prize winner David Mamet, HENRY JOHNSON follows the title character (Jonigkeit) as he navigates his search for a moral center after an act of compassion upends his life. Looking to authority figures, he encounters along the way — including his eventual cellmate, Gene (LaBeouf) — Henry’s journey leads him down a road of manipulation and ethical uncertainty. The film is an exploration of power, justice and the consequences of letting others choose your path for you.
Does Mamet still have the magic after all these years? We’ll find out soon enough. Watch the “Henry Johnson” trailer below.
Rodrigo Perez is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Playlist, which he launched in 2007. He has worked in entertainment journalism since 2000, including at MTV, and has written for SPIN, IndieWire, Pitchfork, Complex, Magnet, and various music, film, and entertainment publications over the past two decades.
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