Jackson Booth-Millard I had heard about this film for some time, mainly because of the leading actor and bits and pieces I had heard about the concept, I hoped it would be something I would enjoy, written by J.J. Abrams (Forever Young, Alias, Lost, Star Wars: The Force Awakens), directed by Mike Nichols (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Graduate, Closer, Charlie Wilson's War). Basically Henry Turner (Harrison Ford) is an ambitious and highly successful Manhattan lawyer, but he is obsessed with work and has a callous, narcissistic, and sometimes unethical nature. Henry being despicable and ruthless in the workplace, spending the majority of his time there leaves him little time to be with his prim socialite wife Sarah (Annette Bening) and troubled pre-teenage daughter Rachel (Mikki Allen). One night, Henry goes into a convenience store for cigarettes, there he interrupts a robbery, the Gunman (John Leguizamo) shoots Henry in the chest and head before fleeing. The bullet to the head hit Henry's right frontal lobe, and the bullet to the chest hit Henry's left subclavian vein, this means he experienced internal bleeding and a cardiac arrest, but more imminently he has suffered brain damage, losing the ability to move or speak, and suffers retrograde amnesia. With the help of a physical therapist Bradley (Bill Nunn), Henry slowly regains his movement and speech, returning home he is almost childlike, with Rachel teaching him to read, being impressed by his surroundings, and forming new friendships with his family and colleagues. Henry realises he does not like the person he was before the shooting, and she and her daughter have become much closer, she is not happy to be going to an out-of-town elite school for girls, as had been planned for her, Henry and Sarah also become much closer, returning to how passionate they felt when they first met, she suggests they should relocate to a smaller, less expensive residence. Henry is allowed to return to work at his firm, but his old assignments and large office are taken away, he is essentially only assigned busy work, he begins to realise he does not want to be a lawyer anymore, this is confirmed when he hears "friends" making derogatory comments about him at a dinner. Henry finds a letter to Sarah from a former colleague disclosing an affair, he is also approached by fellow attorney Linda (Rebecca Miller) who reveals that they also had an affair and had told her he would leave Sarah for her, this makes Henry have second thoughts about himself and his relationships. Henry gives documents from his last case that were suppressed by the firm to the plaintiff who was right all along, he apologises to them, in the end Henry resigns from the firm, says goodbye to Linda, returns to and reconciles with Sarah, realising everything with their lives, before the shooting, was wrong, and finally they withdraw Rachel from the school, Henry and her family all walk away happy. Also starring Donald Moffat as Charlie Cameron, James Rebhorn as Dr. Sultan, Aida Linares as Rosella, Elizabeth Wilson as Henry's secretary Jessica, Robin Bartlett as Phyllis, Bruce Altman as Henry's partner Bruce and John MacKay as George. Ford is often in roles showing not much emotion, so it is perhaps an odd choice for him to be a mean lawyer turning nice, Bening gets some good moments as his wife, it is a very simple story, it may have its flaws in terms of star power, some sympathy for the characters and some predictable bits, but can just get washed up in the glossiness of it, it is a nice enough story, a reasonable drama. Worth watching!

Dalbert Pringle Meet Henry Turner - Mega-wealthy, high-powered, super-successful, Manhattan corporate-lawyer. Not only is Henry despicable, ruthless, dishonest and corrupt in his profession (this makes for an ideal lawyer, I hear), but he also operates in the same mean and rotten way towards his family and friends, too.One fine day, Henry, in his usual mode of miserable arrogance, inadvertently steps into the midst of a robbery that's taking place at some scuzzy, run-down Mini-Mart. (Like, what's Henry doing in this area of town, anyways?) Henry is promptly shot "bulls-eye" (right smack dab) in the exact goddamn middle of the forehead by some two-bit crook with the precision aim of a real marksman.Unfortunately, this bullet to the brain doesn't kill Henry. Instead, after a miraculous recovery (in record time, no less) Henry is transformed, like an angel, into Mr. Sugar-And-Spice-And-Everything-Nice.This character turn-about has got to be one of the phoniest and most sickening change-of-heart scenarios that I've ever witnessed. Like - OK - I could easily understand it if the bullet to the head had lobotomized Henry, and then turned him into a human vegetable, or something. But, it didn't. What it did was completely change his overall personality. It was a 180 degree turn around.I really wonder what medical science would have to say about this sort of movie-nonsense?

jimbo-53-186511 This story focuses on hot shot lawyer Henry Turner (Harrison Ford) and the after effects on his life following a shooting which resulted in him suffering brain damage, loss of speech and loss of mobility.I suspect that there are some people who may find this concept hard to swallow and on the face of it the premise is a tough sell; Before the shooting, Turner is an arrogant, rude, and seemingly uncaring individual - a man who is more interested in his career than his family (which seems to be a cliché with most lawyers). Then when he awakes from his coma and regains his ability to speak he suddenly seems to be a completely different person. This, on the surface, may seem like a contrivance, but personally I was prepared to buy it. We learn that Turner's memory & brain have been severely affected by the shooting - it then appears that Turner has just awoken as a new person. I don't believe that to be the case, I believe that Turner sees life in a new light and I believe that Bradley was a major contributory factor in all of this - Turner sees people doing good deeds and being kind to one another. Although his memory loss will have meant that he forgot about who he used to be, I still believe that his rehabilitation was the biggest contributory factor in improving him as a person. It probably also helps that he's away from a lot of his sleazy lawyer friends - there's no-one around to corrupt him.Ford's performance is another big factor in making the film work and his transition from arrogant slimy lawyer to mild mannered & gentle family man was just effortless. Likewise, the supporting cast were also excellent - it was also a bonus that Turner's daughter wasn't annoying as well.I think the most touching aspect of this film was Turner's relationship with his daughter (post shooting). He actually became more like a friend than a father. This is probably because his brain was probably at a similar stage of maturity to his daughters following his recovery. It was so nice to see him build a relationship with his family that probably never existed before.As well as being compelling as a drama the film also has many light hearted moments (many of the scenes between Bradley and Turner were absolute gems).I did have one or two very minor issues with this film; 1) I found it hard to believe that Turner's employers would allow him to return to work when he quite clearly wasn't ready to go back to work 2) It would have been nice to see the scumbag that shot him be brought to justice. Again, nothing major - just minor niggles more than anything.I really liked this film and thought it was a heart-warming, touching film that was thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish. It's not a film that warrants multiple viewings, but it's certainly something I'd watch again.

slightlymad22 I'm amazed at some of the negative reviews here, I really liked this movie.Plot In A Paragraph: Henry Turner (a brilliant Harrison Ford) is a despicable and ruthless lawyer whose life is turned upside down when one night whilst out buying some cigarettes, he is shot in the head during a robbery. Luckily, he survives the injury with significant brain damage and must re-learn how to speak, walk, and function normally. He has also lost most of the memory of his personal life, and must adjust to life with the family that he does not remember. To the surprise of his wife and daughter, Henry becomes a kind, loving and affectionate man.Bill Nunn is a stand out performer as Bradley, Henry's Physical Therapist, Annette Bening is great as Henry's wife, and Mikki Allen is also great as his daughter Rachel, John Leguizamo pops up too as the liquor store gun man. But this movie is all abut Harrison Ford he is the heart and core of the movie. I'm surprised this hasn't gotten more attention over the years