Oh, Henry

I recently learned that long before Star Trek, Lost, Alias, or even Felicity, one of the first projects J.J. Abrams was ever involved with was the film Regarding Henry. It was one of the first scripts he ever wrote, made back in 1991, when he was still going as "Jeffrey Abrams." Since I've liked-to-loved everything else from him I've seen, I thought it worth a chance to see something from when he was starting out.

It turns out, it took him a little time to really get rolling. Regarding Henry is not a bad movie, but I was probably asking to be disappointed, going into it with the expectations I had. The story is crafted well-enough, and it tries very hard to be an emotional piece of drama, but at almost every turn, the movie comes off as though it's only scratching the surface of something much deeper.

It stars Harrison Ford as a workaholic lawyer who by chance is shot in the head during a convenience store robbery. (By John Leguizamo, of all people.) He survives, but loses nearly all his memory, speech, and motor function, and must endure a lengthy recovery. By the time he's up and functioning again, he's beginning to discover that he doesn't like the man he was.

Given the last decade or so, it's hard to remember a time when Harrison Ford actually took roles that had a character arc, weren't cookie cutter, and actually required him to act. But this movie is from that time. He gives a fine performance, as does Annette Bening as his wife. Oddly, the real standout is Bill Nunn in a supporting role as the physical therapist who nurses the title character back to health. He makes quirky believable, and his monologue about the reason he got into his profession is the most compelling scene in the movie -- the one bit that actually lands a good emotional punch.

The film is never boring, but also never deep. Veteran director Mike Nichols doesn't bring anything extra to a script that seems like it might have been whitewashed in the studio process. The Henry at the start of the film isn't portrayed all that badly. It's as though no one wanted to take the chance that the audience might not like Harrison Ford, but it makes the road to change a much shorter one. Wife Sarah is portrayed as a little too stoic and faithful in the face of the tragedy, and it doesn't completely gel with the revelations about her we find late in the film.

It's a fine early effort, but I feel fairly sure that if this film were made today (no doubt with J.J. Abrams directing himself), it would risk more and be more compelling for it. It's a B- movie in my book, that doesn't dare to be any greater.