The movie Regarding Henry is, along with the film Awakenings, I believe one of my top favorite dramas from my earlier teenage years, shortly before moving to Sudbury. The basis of the film, Henry Turner is a ruthless lawyer who has a bad character and has hidden dysfunction with his wife and does not really connect properly with his doctor before he is shot in the head and chest. He then starts anew and in a sense it is akin to being “born again” in the sense that he not only has to learn who he is again but also is transformed into seeing truly what is most valuable in his life and what he values most, including his career. In this way his vulnerability is discovered, as well as his wife and daughter, the question is will it change him for the better. He also discovers his own integrity in this process. I can personally relate to this from my own childhood and family background and now I understand even more why with my adult diagnosis of Non-Verbal Learning Disability that I have been granted this gift of valuing this integrity even from my youth, and seeing its importance in my own family life. Please see this film where you will laugh and cry and have an opportunity to reflect on at the deepest level who God has created us to be (audience discussion recommendations and reservations at end of this film review).
In this time after a year and a half of Covid 10 lockdowns, where after an experimental covid jab the population is beginning to be divided and segregated, and the suffering and confusion level is rising at an astronomical level, this film also will ask us to consider who we are and what we believe in at the deepest level, for at the deepest level more than anything else God and the love we share with one another especially in our families which go back to our origins root us in the love of our Triune God! As Pope Benedict XVI stated in his inaugural Mass paraphrased in 2005 “We are not some casual and meaningless product of evolution each of us is willed, loved and necessary...there is nothing more beautiful than to be surprised by the Gospel to come to know Christ and to share Him with others”Indeed, this is a time a year and a half after covid has begun where friends of mine are potentially having their job and economic and livelihoods threatened based on medical decisions , and I am in a similar position of discernment and uncertainty in solidarity with them but also for my disability rights. Henry in this film, especially his “metanoia” or change before and after his brain injury teaches us that living in the integrity of who we are called to be is a metanoia or a conversion from God that allows us to truly discover the joy of being who we are created to be. How will we live when we are segregated from society based on vaccination status or maintaining our convictions? How will Henry be able to work and thrive in some new decisions he needs to make as a lawyer? (watch the film for more details)
To start with immediately after the shooting and brain injury Henry has to learn to walk, to talk and through some challenges he learns this including emotional challenges like deciding if he wants to go home with his wife and daughter when he can’t remember his past life. Even the smallest memory may be influential to his heart. This reminds me of the Little Way of St. Therese. We grow step by step in our brokenness and as we take each step God supports us with His love and grace, but also like Henry learns through the dear people in our lives, in his case his wife and daughter.Like Henry, all these are opportunities for us to ask what is most important in our lives. (Some moderate spoilers in the next 2 paragraphs you may want to watch film first if that bothers you) This film will leave you with a feeling of knowing at the depth of your being that living in the integrity of who you are created to be is what bring real joy and peace, even if there are some very difficult immediate consequences comparatively as debilitating as they may seem they are nothing compared to the providence of God our Creator! When Henry returns to our job he begins studying a past file “and says what we did is wrong”and the response was “what we did is paying for our lunch”. Again as millions of people all around the world, including potentially friends of mine, are losing their jobs for holding the integrity of their cherished convictions, this discovery statement at this time is profound. Which side would Henry take, the easy way out or following a moral conviction not popular with his company? As Henry would say towards the conclusion of this film (possible minor spoiler to some) to his secretary who pours his tea and asks him to say when, when he has had enough “I had enough so I said when”. He then proceeds to go and really show that the love of his family and their needs is what is most important in his life.
Indeed, his first word after the accident may have been “ritz” after he began his brain injury recovery but the meaning is far more than crackers as his physiotherapist reasonably presumed, once Henry matures in his new life after the brain injury it becomes a revelation that he finally realizes that he does not want to be who he was but that he must make amends and be accountable for it and show love and mercy to his wife as in strict justice he has received it also from her. In my youth in the early 90s I remember around the same time as the film Regarding Henry with Harrison Ford came out, going with my mom to a film called The Firm with Tom Cruise who had a wonderful loving wife whom he cheated on. I felt cheated and it ruined the rest of the film for me. In a way, the brain incident will help Henry consider love and fidelity in this filmSo some questions for us considering these things. When will we in this post covid world also slowly wake up and hopefully find joy and peace realizing the painful choices we may be making and show love and support to our loved ones without judging or misunderstanding them? Can we do this with genuine love and hope for the future when globablism reaches apocalyptic dimensions and we get more and more stressed or do we snap and lash out? I can tell you with my own disabilities and mental health this is getting harder and harder, when the state seems to be trying to take the role of mother and father in every decision in our lives and I have already experienced so many barriers due to my disabilities I don’t feel I need any more! But one thing is for sure not only for me, but for all of us: the love of God must take root both in our personal lives, in our families, for Christians and in the Church, and in the human family or civilization in general, or is this all not only taking a crash but about to take an even bigger crash like has never been seen before! With Christ though we can see, metaphorically like we see in Henry’s life there is always rebirth, and Christ has promised us in His future Kingdom as we see the descent of the world more and more into chaos that “swords will be built into ploughshares” and the “lion will lay down with the lamb” and that He will reign for a 1000 years and the devil will no longer have power over the nations (Isaiah 11: Revelation 20). Therefore, no matter how bad it gets, let's never give up on faith, hope and love, and like Henry, let's learn that God has a new life for us and how to love the people that God has put in our own lives!
(Note on film - we recommend it on this faith based website sadly with some reservations, such as the Lord’s name being taken in vain which we cannot approve and also some unnecessary sexual innuendo and discussions that we do not recommend for children especially under 13 years of age - that being said content for a secular film - we try to prioritize mostly faith based films on our website - is very mild compared with most today)