Customer Reviews

Regarding Henry

5 star:		(51)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Despite being less well known, "Regarding Henry" is one of Harrison Ford's best works. The film demands a wide spectrum from this great actor and he delivers convincingly. For the most part, the other performers take their cue from Ford's "Henry" and render a near perfect glimpse of a life that could have been.

The tile character, Henry Turner, is introduced to us as a top-flight litigator for a large New York legal firm. He is well groomed, dressed in a designer suit and he is seen speaking sincerely to a jury about human desires and justice. Our opinion of him changes as soon as Henry leaves the court. He quickly makes a call to his interior designer to berate her for having the wrong table delivered to his palatial home. He is just another lawyer, after all.

It is hard to watch this movie at the start. Henry is one of those men we all love to hate. He is selfish, self centered, successful and confident. His daughter is frightened of him and his wife is a pale reflection of him. Luckily we are not forced to watch this Henry for very long. He makes the classic movie exit and "goes out for some cigarettes."

What follows is a scene that is perfectly directed. Henry walks into a corner store demanding his brand of cigarettes, unaware that the other patron is robbing the owner. Henry does not become scared but before he can even attempt to control the situation, he is lying on the sidewalk with two bullets inside his body and the wail of approaching sirens in the background. This event is the cusp of Henry's life.

Annette Bening plays Henry's Wife, Sarah. She may not be in love with her husband anymore but she needs him. As her financial position becomes clear, she realizes she needs him very much. But she is not unaffected by it all. This is the man in her life, the father of her child, a good provider and protector. Seeing him lying motionless in a hospital bed, drooling and staring vacantly, is probably the most painful thing she has ever experienced. But there is some hope of recovery.

Henry's long rejuvenation at a specialty medical center is like a rebirth. He remembers nothing, coming into his new world without the power of speech or the ability to walk. His midwife/physiotherapist, Bradley, is wonderful. He is full of life, energy and enthusiasm. As Henry is taught to walk and speak and function, Bradely becomes the mainstay of his life. Sarah keeps her distance and Henry doesn't get to see his daughter, (Rachel), at all until the day he is deemed fit to go home, a scary separation from the only people he trusts.

But the Henry that returns to a home he barely remembers, is not the same man that left for cigarettes. He is a little shy, very calm, forgiving, gentle and above all, nice. His transformation is interpreted in different ways by different groups. The movie serves as an interesting depiction of how society views disabilities. His boss is patronizing, his daughter delighted, his mistress is distraught and for the longest time, Sarah doesn't know what to feel.

The ending may be predictable but in this case, it is the journey that we love. Most of us feel we have lost our innocence and that our honor has been a little tarnished by life's decisions. Henry takes us on a trip to see what might happen if we surrendered all the hard won prizes in our life and instead, chose to embrace life itself. This is a film that will make you feel. Some days, that's just what we need.

A prominent, but stony-hearted lawyer is an innocent standbyer in a liquor store hold up and gets shot in the head. The scene is unforgettable and will stay with you long after you've seen the film. He's stunned and doesn't quite realize he's been hit, then you see this little trail of blood trickling from his forehead... next scene, he's in the hospital suffering from amnesia.

Far from being a love-tap to the noggin, Henry must go through months of agonizing physical therapy to re-learn how to talk and think straight again. While his memory comes back in tiny little pieces, he mostly remembers nothing of his past life and is re-introduced to his wife and daughter, who ironically enough, were already strangers to him before he was shot.

Along with the good memories, the previous emotional baggage has been erased as well and Henry finds himself falling in love with his wife all over again, and falling in love with the daughter he never appreciated. He becomes fearless and fun-loving and must face the person he used to be as he realizes that even though he has changed, others are treating him like the old, spiteful Henry. The film says a lot to the viewer emotionally. We either hold on to the things we hate, yet are comfortable with, or we abandon the garbage and start our lives with a fresh perspective, letting those who choose to scoff us sluff off like barnacles.

Too many people simply go through life, plodding along, going through the motions and never really live and enjoy the important things that life has too offer. The film makes you think... you can start off with life a-new, without the help of a bullet if you're so determined. This is a sweet family film that I highly recommend.

This isn't one of Harrison Ford's bigger hits, but it should be, at least within the dramatic genre. Sure, he's Indiana Jones, and he's Han Solo, but outside of those series, Ford's movie choices have occasionally left this fan, at least, scratching her head (Sabrina? What were you thinking!?).

"Regarding Henry" is a rare little gem of a story, a simple film about a man whose life changes, believe it or not, for the better when he's shot and nearly killed by dint of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Ford's Henry Turner takes us through a life he doesn't remember, including a daughter and a wife played by an impossibly young and fresh-faced Annette Bening.

Sure, it's a little sentimental. But it's a pretty simple story with a positive feel. Filmed on location in New York City, the Manhattan scenery is rather delightful as well.

It's not film noir, it's not a tour de force of characterization, and no, it's not Academy Award winning screenwriting. But it is a thoroughly enjoyable movie, one Ford doesn't have any reason to be ashamed of.

From seemingly horrific circumstances, can come something better, if you know where to look. Henry Turner is a very hard man to like in the beginning of this movie, and so is his wife. As a result of walking into a seemingly random accident, ("going out for cigarettes," it seems smoking means nothing but a bad person anymore) Henry begins a long and arduous recovery process from a brain injury. Along the way to finding out what he once was, he finds that what he once was is something he no longer cares to be. Watching his wife, his daughter, his colleagues, friends, and even his beagle dog along the way is something pretty special to see as Henry moves along to deal with all the circumstances in his life that he previously sought to ignore. This movie, to me, seems to be about a redemption that is possible for all of us. I recommend this movie to anyone who likes drama with a good ending, which is not always possible in reality. I think Henry is all about hope and change for the better. This is a good movie that is not one of the best, but one that you remember long after having viewed it. Good performances of the Henry character and also of his physical therapist, who helped him move into his new life with courage and strength.

OPENING SCENE: Henry the Proud knowingly, cold-bloodedly, and methodically demolishes an innocent welfare family before a jury.

CLOSING SCENE: Henry the Humble graciously and sincerely assists this family.

Regarding Henry makes clear we spend our lives misplacing our affections. The only people who truly care about and love Henry before his accident are his wife and daughter; he spends his time with everyone else. They are also the only ones who care about and love Henry after his accident, when his formerly "faithful" business colleagues abandon him - his cold-blooded instincts and machiavellian legal talents having been destroyed by his accident (brain anoxia due to a damaged subclavian artery). As in Dustin Hoffman's Rainman and Tom Hanks' Forrest Gump, there is humor and much innocence. Innocence is moving when its vehicle is an adult rather than a child: It's rarer.

But there *is* one other character who cares about and loves Henry: His earthy, streetsmart physical therapist Bradley, who patiently and lovingly teaches Henry to walk, talk, and even think again. On their daily strolls around the sanitarium where Henry is recuperating gradually, Bradley always ogles the cute young nurses, constantly telling the still-mute and barely-able-to-walk Henry, "I gotta get me some o' that!" Later, it becomes My Fair Lady in reverse when, after several weeks of this operant conditioning, a cute young nurse jogs past the two of them and Henry very innocently mumbles to Bradley, "Yeah, you gotta get you some o' that". But make no mistake, Bradley has a heart of gold, he enhances this film with his infectious joie-de-vivre, and his humanity saves Henry. Harrison Ford delivers a touching and convincing performance here.

A very human film that deftly avoids mawkish sentimentality as we watch a legal devil incarnate become an angel.

I was about 14 or 15 when this movie came out. I liked it because Harrison Ford was in it and because I liked few of the scenes on there. To be honest, I really can't remember what those scenes where! Weird?

Anyway, I've seen it a few times now as an adult and I get a whole new emotion from this. "Sometimes you have to hit bottom in order to reach the top once again". This is what has happened in this movie. Harrison Ford's character was a cold and arrogant Lawyer that didn't care for anything or anyone unless it gave him financial gain in some form. He and his wife had many friends who later in the movie they discover how "true" those friends are. It's a sad moment in the movie that many of us have or (heaven forbid) will have experienced in our lives...heaven knows that I have.
After his accident he changes into another man who is compassionate, thankful and most importantly, humbled. Something of which most of his 'said' friends are not. They're uncomfortable with the change so they do what they do best. They judge, mock...whatever you feel fits. One of my favorite scenes is when Henry goes to one of his old client's apartment and he appoligizes for what he did during one of the cases. That in itself is amazing because he honestly didn't remember doing the work. Of course he finds out after reading some of his cases.
Some people here may not like the movie because of what it represents. I on another hand look at it more of a positive way and I've found that this is one of the best movies they've made.

Judge the movie for yourself. It's a good one!

No, this is not a Harrison Ford action-film where he plays the hero. This is a moving, heart-warming film about a fellow who used to be a not-so great guy. His life is changed, however, by a physical trauma and subsequent memory loss. It is much more subtle than you expect from Ford, if you're an action-hero film goer. Harrison, almost child-like now, is appalled in many ways to find out the nature of his character in his former life, and this is a life-lesson for those who are paying attention. You can learn what is important about life without getting a "shot to the head". I think Nichols was very clever in using this cliche physically to demonstrate an important aspect of the human experience.

This atypical Harrison Ford-Annette Bening outing is one of those guilty pleasures that critics who deride it won't fess up to its feel-good result. We see Ford first as an ethic-skirting attorney whose sense of justice apparently doesn't extend beyond how the letter of the law can be manipulated to "win" at the cost of "human" justice. Of course, the film's premise that a gunshot wound to the head, which is what happens to Ford's character of Henry Turner, can create a neurological about-face in character is ridiculous. But we don't care. It's plain fun and reassuring to see Henry go from an amoral, apparently unfeeling big shot to a family man seeking to fit into his new world. Ford carries this film all the way and proves he can unleash an emotional performance, something most of his film characters aren't required to do. The film's closing scene, with Ford being called up to the teacher's desk, is a satisfying and fitting end. As for Benning, she's thoroughly engaging as the wife who gets a treat of having her life completely uprooted, for the better!

I recall most critics trashing this film 15 years ago when it was new. I heard an especially vicious critique on NPR, of all places. Then I saw it, and liked it very much. Of course it is sentimental and manipulative, but all films are manipulative. I liked Harrison's work, and I even liked Annette Bening, which does not always happen for me. Most of us wonder whether, if we suffered a serious brain injury or a spinal cord break, if we would survive, and cope. This film shows one fictional guy facing that crisis, and becoming a better man for having lost some of his mental toughness and job skills. Those who sneer at this touching film perhaps have already lost the humane sense that Harrison Ford's character acquires through suffering.

This is one of the best Harrison Ford movies ever. Every time my mom and I watch it together, we cry like babies, especially at the end. It is everything you could want in a movie, with scandal, guns, and politics, but also good life lessons, heartwarming scenes, and the power of family. Buy it immediately, you won't regret it.