Focus Features has released the first trailer for Colin Trevorrow‘s The Book of Henry. The film is his third directorial effort. Clearly, the filmmaker likes to go back to indie films in between his blockbuster films. Starting off with Safety Not Guaranteed, then moving on to Jurassic World, and following it up with this before he heads off to direct Star Wars: Episode IX.

Check out the trailer below.

The trailer starts off charmingly enough, opening with Henry (Jaeden Lieberher) talking in front of his class about the idea of legacy. Sure enough, we see that he is not your average 12-year-old as his teacher asks why he isn’t in a gifted school, to which he responds with “because it is better for my psychosocial development.” If anything, that is the kind of film I would like to see. As it progresses, we are introduced to his mother (Naomi Watts) and younger brother Peter (Jacob Tremblay). The bond that Henry has with these two is touching and profound, and soon enough we learn that he has a love interest.

But the trailer takes a very strange turn, going from a movie about three kids to a mystery thriller that has Naomi Watts pointing a sniper rifle at the stepfather (Dean Norris) of Henry’s kind classmate Christina (Maddie Ziegler). It’s a radical shift in tone, and one that I hope gets more explanation as we get closer to the release of the film.

The film also stars Sarah Silverman.

Here’s the official plot synopsis:

Sometimes things are not always what they seem, especially in the small suburban town where the Carpenter family lives. Single suburban mother Susan Carpenter (Naomi Watts) works as a waitress at a diner, alongside feisty family friend Sheila (Sarah Silverman). Her younger son Peter (Jacob Tremblay) is a playful 8-year-old. Taking care of everyone and everything in his own unique way is Susan’s older son Henry (Jaeden Lieberher), age 11. Protector to his adoring younger brother and tireless supporter of his often self-doubting mother – and, through investments, of the family as a whole – Henry blazes through the days like a comet. Susan discovers that the family next door, which includes Henry’s kind classmate Christina (Maddie Ziegler), has a dangerous secret – and that Henry has devised a surprising plan to help. As his brainstormed rescue plan for Christina takes shape in thrilling ways, Susan finds herself at the center of it.

The Book of Henry opens in theaters on June 16th, 2017.

Trailer

[Source: Focus Features YT]