|
.. |
|
REGARDING HENRY
Review by Gordon Justesen
Stars:
Harrison Ford, Annette Bening
Director: Mike Nichols
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Surround, French Dolby Stereo
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
Studio: Paramount
Features: None
Length: 107 Minutes
Release Date: September 9, 2003
Film
***
The notion of
getting that rare kind of second chance in life is terrifically illustrated in Regarding
Henry. The story surrounds the sudden near tragedy that strikes its lead
character, only to lead him to discover a side of him that nobody could’ve
thought existed. The film is a triumph for its star, Harrison Ford, who turns in
a rare, touching performance in director Mike Nichols’ drama.
Ford plays Henry
Turner, a power-driven NYC defense attorney who lives in high class, but with
little happiness. At the opening of the film, the lawyer has just won a case
where he was defending a hospital that was accused of denying a diabetic
patient. Despite the courtroom victory, Henry remains a cold-hearted and
ruthless machine.
In addition, Henry
doesn’t give enough time for his wife and daughter. Daughter Rachel (Mikki
Allen) is always being punished for harmless accidents like spilling something
on the floor. His wife, Sarah (Annette Bening), does the wife bit when it comes
to showing up at business parties and such, but is not as much in love with the
man as she was when they first met.
Then unexpected
tragedy strikes. One night, while going out to buy cigarettes, Henry intervenes
at a convenience store robbery. The result leaves Henry wounded with two
bullets, one in the chest and one in the head. The wounds weren’t fatal, as
explained by the doctor, but the shot to the chest caused a disruption in the
flow of blood to the brain, leaving the lawyer brain damaged. He will have to
endure an elaborate rehabilitation process in order to regain full
consciousness.
Before long, Henry
is learning to walk again, through the help of his physical therapist, Bradley
(Bill Nunn). His memory and speaking abilities take a bit longer to regenerate,
but before long Henry is able to talk again, thanks in part to a helping of eggs
with Tabasco sauce. Despite having regaining consciousness, the new Henry knows
nothing of his former life, not even his own wife and daughter. Added to this,
the new Henry is also a much kinder, gentler soul, completely the opposite of
the man he used to be.
The heart of the
movie is Harrison Ford’s performance, which actually stands out as one of the
more challenging roles for the veteran actor. Ford, known for playing tough
guys, reveals a much more gentle side, as the performance requires him to go a
route that he has never gone before. The result is a triumphant performance, as
well as the saving grace of the movie, which at times tends to boarder on cheap
plot points that belong in a TV movie.
Regarding
Henry is a marvelous
performance piece from Harrison Ford, and touching in some parts as well. Though
it tends to be a bit more sentimental than it needs to be, the finished product
is a much entertaining drama.
Video
**
When it comes to
titles that have aged some since the birth of DVD, their look is always hard to
predict in the format. Regarding Henry
has aged twelve years since its release, and the video presentation from
Paramount has more downs than ups. One thing I noticed is that the picture is
consistently softer than it needs to be, adding in a bit of grain and
compression here and there. Once in a while, the image will come up nicely with
sharpness, but for the most part this came across as a transfer that should’ve
gotten the director’s supervision.
Audio
**
This is a movie
powered by dialogue and not much else, so elaborating on this 5.1 track will
come across as quite simple. For the most part, dialogue is heard clearly, but
at the same time, all the audible action tends to come from the front area and
not much elsewhere. Not an entirely terrible listen, but my feeling was there
wasn’t much that could be done in this area.
Features
(Zero Stars)
Nothing.
Summary: