La fuerza de la verdad

I keep reading about how "sappy" and "predictable" this film is. This is true, so I will tell you now, if you hate those types of films then this is not the film for you.

But if you miss seeing movies that you waited for the happy ending you knew was coming, then you will not be disappointed. There are so many movies that don't end so happily nowadays, but remembering the times with movies that had a character who had to learn a lesson but got something more in the end (eg. "It's a Wonderful Life") I couldn't help but enjoy this movie.

I highly recommend it, the acting is fantastic, the story is touching, and knowing what it's like to go through hard times (my own dad had to go through some rehabilitation) then this movie hits it home. I suggest it if you agree with the points above, but it's not for everyone.

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.

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.

This film is about a guy who is a bit of a prick, he does not seem to get along all that well with his wife and he is not exactly all that warm and cuddly to his daughter. He goes out one night to buy some cigarettes and ends up in the middle of a hold up and ends up getting shot in the head and I think shoulder. He ends up with brain damage and must now learn how to do simple things all over again. He gets some help from a very charismatic health care worker who helps him walk and talk once again. Henry (the name of Harrison Ford's character) is a bit hesitant in going home and living with a wife and daughter he has very little recollection in, however, he does so and they are in for a treat as Henry is now seemingly a more loving and caring person than he was before. Nice story, not all drama as there is quite a lot of humor in this one too. I like it when he somehow finds his way into an adult movie theater. He also has troubles adjusting back to his old job where he was a rather ruthless attorney, as he keeps finding things that he left out that could have helped the other side. I enjoyed the story and I enjoyed the transformation of old Henry to new Henry. He learns about the old him throughout the movie and he finds he does not really care for who he was either. A nice trip of self-discovery.

...at the horrible ratings this film is getting.

How can anyone not see & savor the multiple emotional trips upon which this film takes the viewer.

From the lead male, to the lead female, the young girl - even the dog - the story steers viewers throughout the scope of humanity. Supporting cast are well-selected.

If you're looking for Han or Indy, move on, for you'll be seeing a side of Harrison Ford not duplicated. Open your heart and mind, and embrace a lovely yet provocative film.