I Am Shakespeare: The Henry Green Story

Connecticut-based filmmaker Stephen Dest’s documentary focuses on the life experience of a young man seeking to overcome a violent environment through theater. Henry Green was an acting student whose talent brought him to the role of Tybalt in a summer production of Romeo and Juliet– and away from the street gang life that threatened to envelop and destroy him. But the magic of theater could not shield him from the problems of his rough neighborhood, and after one performance he was shot three times in the stomach near his home and left for dead. His survival came from a medical miracle: he received an intestinal transplant using the organ of a 13-year-old car accident victim from the other side of the country. Most of the film is framed with Green either speaking directly to the camera or artistically framed in a three-quarter profile. As a raconteur, Green presented a remarkable gift for language and the ability to tell his life story in a manner that is equal parts harrowing, funny, sincere, and often upsetting – especially when he unapologetically details his gang life. The film eventually wears out its welcome – despite a wealth of dramatic life events, Green’s odyssey might have been better suited as a one-hour production. But when the film works, it is a compelling view of inner-city hopes and dreams.