In Sachen Henry

Regarding Henry is about a man who projects a cold, emotional shell and seems as if he cares nothing for anyone but himself, full of malice that seems like simple inconsideration, a self-centered cockiness, and an extreme difficulty with allowing mutual understanding amongst those close to him, especially his uneasy wife and unhappy daughter. When he is shot incidentally in a robbery, because his emotional shell drops for no one, not even an armed thug in a convenience store, he recovers over the course of a few months, with serious brain injury, reverting him to an almost childlike state, thus a primal, basic form of himself, and a truly sensitive, caring person emerges, completely naive to the value system of his former self. His barefaced heart wrenched by all the decisions and actions he made leading up to the incident, he intends to fix them.

This is a wonderful premise and even more truthful and honest about the human condition that one may think, but to be honest, it is plagued by an almost unbearable lightness. A story this emotionally stimulating needs weight, further development, a script untouched by formula, and all these needs were fulfilled, the film would be yet even more fulfilling and the moral of the film would be less obvious and more provoking of insight and thought. I think it's a good movie, and tears will be shed, but in its requirements that had to be reached for fear of mainstream rejection or misunderstanding, not enough tears were should and it is left in a condition where its full potential is not reached.

Just as Mike Nichols, in the midpoint of his career around this film's time of release, began giving his films less atmosphere, less edge, less intensity (which would later return with films like Primary Colors and Closer), Harrison Ford's performances are normally quite stilted, even if he tends to be in very enjoyable movies, many of them classics. In Regarding Henry, he delivers one of his very finest, really feeling his character deeply and expressing emotion very realistically and compassionately.

In a change of pace from his usual "action" type movies, Harrison Ford does a pretty good job here as Henry Turner - a high powered, selfish, self-absorbed, heartless, cold as ice (enough adjectives?) lawyer whose life revolves around work and who ignores both his wife and his young daughter for most of the time. Henry's life undergoes a major change as the result of a shooting, which resulted in massive brain damage. Coming out of his coma, Henry can't talk or walk and has no memory of anything or anyone. He really does start from scratch; a child in a man's body. Much of the movie is then taken up with watching Henry struggle to recover from his trauma.

OK - it's pretty predictable. Point given. (Having said that, I thought the movie might take an unexpected direction when Henry discovered the letters in his wife's dresser.) Predictable though it may be, however, it was still pretty well done I thought, and offers several tug at your heartstring sort of moments that are pretty good. Annette Bening was believable as Henry's wife Sarah, and I thought Mikki Allen did a pretty good job of capturing the essence of their young daughter Rachel - her fear, her confusion. It came across. In my opinion, though, stealing the show was Bill Nunn as Bradley, Henry's physiotherapist who helps him to rebuild a life that's very different from what he had, but is also far more fulfilling.

Ford, I thought, was better as the "new" Henry Turner - recovering from his trauma and turning into a new man. As the cold Henry at the beginning of the movie, he came across to me as almost too cold - a caricature of the heartless lawyer but not quite a believable character. That aside, I found this to be an enjoyable and interesting movie to watch, and the last scene at the school really did touch me. It's certainly not good enough to attain the level of a classic, but it is pretty good. 7/10

One of my all time favorite movies. Regarding Henry is an absolutely wonderful movie. The storyline is so well thought out and the acting is amazing from both Ford and Bening. The characters drawn you in and make you feel such compassion, both for Sarah and Henry; what would you do if you had to deal with the rehabilitation of your loved one? What would you do if you had to start from scratch? What if you woke up in your life and didn't like who you were?

Henry Turner (Harrison Ford) is a ruthless successful lawyer in New York City. Who lives with an beautiful wife (Annette Bening) and his smart but sad young daughter (Mikki Allen). When Henry simply wanted to buy a pack of cigarettes but he gets shot in the head, which brings Henry's high profile life to a stop. Henry lives from his gun shot wound but he has to start all over again. Since he has no memory at all. Henry finds help from a male nurse (Bill Nunn), which makes life fun for Henry by making him walk and talk. When Herny goes home with his family, the friends Henry once knew turns their backs on him. Henry learns the hard truth from his previous life and starting all over again as a complete stranger.

Directed by Mike Nichols (Closer, Wolf, Working Girl) made this dramatic often funny and touching film. Ford brings one of his best roles and it is also quite moving in this. Bening is equally good as his understanding wife. This wasn't quite success, they were expecting at the box office. But it did played well on video. "Regarding Henry" is one of those films, who always find yourself enjoying over and over again. John Leguizamo and James Rebhorn appears in cameos. Screenwriter:Jeffery Abrams (Now credited as J.J. Abrams), who wrote this film appears in a cameo as a delivery boy. Which Abrams is best known for being the creator as such television shows like "Alias" and "Lost". (****/*****).

I survived a serious skydiving accident in December of 2011. I 'came too' in a trauma center with no memory of what had occurred and the majority of my life. One of the major injuries was a brain bleed from a fractured skull with a Traumatic Brain Injury, or TBI. Learning everything from scratch has been a long tough road. I owe so much to my family that chose to stick it out with me.