Anatomy of a Scene's Manatomy: Keanu Reeves Does His Only Frontal Scene in the Little Seen 'Henry's Crime'

<< Blog | Editorial Features Thursday, January 14, 4:00 PMThu, 14 Jan 2021 @ 4:00 PM by Jake Jizzenhall

Throughout cinema history, there have been some iconic nude scenes that have transcended the bounds of the films in which they appeared. Our weekly column Anatomy of a Scene's Manatomy will take an in-depth look at these scenes, their history, their deeper meanings, and their legacy. This week, 46 year old Keanu Reeves decides its finally time to show his dick in Henry's Crime, a movie that made a hair over $100,000 at the box office.

Hey, did you guys know that there's a movie released in the last ten years starring Keanu Reeves as a bank robber doing time alongside toughs like James Caan, Peter Stormare, and Bill Duke? Did you also know that there's a subplot where, after he gets out of the joint, he becomes an actor in a production of Anton Chekov's The Cherry Orchard and falls for his quasi-age appropriate love interest Vera Farmiga, just 9 years Reeves' junior? AND, most of all, did you know that Keanu actually shows his dick in this movie? I didn't really know this until about two weeks ago, but this movie exists, and it's called Henry's Crime.

Keanu Reeves is about as resilient a movie star as there's been in my lifetime. He first rose to super-stardom on the back of his Bill and Ted films, becoming one of the most in-demand actors of his generation. After his career seemed to have peaked with Speed in 1994, he starred in a string of disappointing action and sci-fi films that all seemed to point toward him being on the downside of stardom. Then came The Matrix in 1999 and he was once again a demi-god of genre cinema, dominating the box office.

That phase petered out again after 2005's Constantine, when he headlined a string of high profile flops like The Day the Earth Stood Still and 47 Ronin. Then 2014's John Wick, which kinda came and went without much fanfare in the fall of 2014, became a huge hit on home video and streaming, spawning his third major career franchise. Keanu was—and still is—back on top, this time with a widespread and, frankly, newfound respect for his talents as an actor. He may play doofuses, numbskulls, and seemingly blank slate characters, but he's a much deeper, more thoughtful person and actor than anyone had given him credit for earlier.

It's telling that he's also gone back to the other two franchises that launched and revived his career with last year's Bill and Ted Face the Music and next year's Matrix reboot. Going back to iconic roles as an older man and actor has given at least Ted "Theodore" Logan hidden depth he never had previously and who knows what that Matrix movies is going to end up becoming? Keanu's a good egg and the fact that he's managed to have two major career revivals speaks volumes about his talent.

Bearing all of that in mind, we need to examine that second, really fallow period in his career post-Lake House and pre-Wick, aka that time he made Henry's Crime. On paper, one could see why Reeves would want to make a movie with photographer Malcolm Venville, whose 2009 debut film 44 Inch Chest was a rollicking good time. He was a star on the rise in the film world and his next project was this hugely unconventional film about bank robber Henry (Reeves) who gets out of prison and plans a heist with his former cellmate Max (Caan).

However, he falls for local actress Julie (Farmiga) whom he is cast opposite in a production of The Cherry Orchard, all as a part of his absolutely byzantine cover for... Henry's Crime. Long story short, he and his buddy Max pull off the heist despite a sabotage attempt from their third partner (Fisher Stevens), and in the end Henry decides to let Max keep all the money while he goes back to town to be with Julie.

Knowing all of this, you might be wondering how and why Keanu Reeves shows his dick in this particular movie? Well, it's about as throwaway a full frontal debut as you can get, especially from an A-Lister (even one in repose), so I can't provide any of the why. The how, of course, is in prison. That's right, it's just you're regular, run of the mill, prison shower scene where Keanu just lets it all hang out 15 minutes in while he's getting out of the shower while chatting with James Caan...

It's strange that Reeves, who doesn't do a lot of nude scenes, would just be so casually nude all of a sudden on film. He lets his ass hang out in Point Break, The Matrix Reloaded, The Devil's Advocate, and even My Own Private Idaho. Why not go the full monty in one of those movies? In fairness, maybe he did and it just didn't make the cut, but it's incredibly strange that he's completely nude, here, in front of co-star James Caan, in prison, just shooting the shit. I guess it just goes to show that Keanu is nothing if not completely and totally unpredictable.

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Catch up with ALL of our other editions of Anatomy of a Scene's Manatomy...

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