Regarding Henry (1991)

After being shot, a man loses his memory and must relearn speech and mobility, but he has a loving family to support him.

Director:

Mike Nichols

Writer:

J.J. Abrams (as Jeffrey Abrams)

Stars:

Harrison Ford, Annette Bening, Michael Haley

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Harrison Ford	...	Henry Turner
Annette Bening	...	Sarah Turner
Michael Haley	...	Court Clerk (as R.M. Haley)
Stanley Swerdlow	...	Mr. Matthews (as Stanley H. Swerdlow)
Julie Follansbee	...	Mrs. Matthews
Rebecca Miller	...	Linda
Bruce Altman	...	Bruce, Henry's Partner
Elizabeth Wilson	...	Jessica, Henry's Secretary
Donald Moffat	...	Charlie Cameron
Kamian Allen	...	Rachel Turner (as Mikki Allen)
Aida Linares	...	Rosella
John MacKay	...	George
Mary Gilbert	...	Julia
Peter Appel	...	Eddie the Doorman
Harsh Nayyar	...	Liquor Store Owner

Storyline

Henry is a lawyer who survives a shooting only to find he cannot remember anything. As if that weren't enough, Henry also has to recover his speech and mobility, in a life he no longer fits into. Fortunately, Henry has a loving wife and daughter to help him.

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Plot Keywords:

new york city | brain damage | main character shot | movie theater | upper class | 

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Taglines:

His life was based on power, success, and ruthlessness. Until a bullet made him think again.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 July 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

La fuerza de la verdad

Filming Locations:

Burke Foundation, White Plains, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,146,782, 14 July 1991, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$43,001,500

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mike Nichols previously directed Harrison Ford in Working Girl (1988).

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Goofs

In the scene where Henry is asked to identify different wooden shapes as part of his rehabilitation, a nurse removes the wooden circle from the table when Bradley enters the room. When we switch angles and see Henry's face, the wooden circle has not been removed and is still on the table.

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Quotes

Henry: You see that man over there? That lady over there. He used to be her husband. Who's she kidding? The damage has already been done.
[Sarah and the old man laugh]

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Connections

Remade as Daag: The Fire (1999)

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Soundtracks

WALKING ON THE MOON
Performed by The Police
Written by Sting
Used courtesy of A&M RECORDS, INC.

User Reviews

The Epitome of the American Feel-Good Film

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.