Movie - Regarding Henry

Regarding Henry Discussion:
My experience in watching the movie was surreal. I know that I have seen the movie a couple of times but this time, under these circumstances I watched it with an open mind and heart. I really felt the process of Henry’s change. It was really interesting to see and feel the change in his values and experience the growth with him. It was fun to see how it affected his family and acquaintances’. I think that as he changed there was almost a jealousy in the people who were calloused by the world and their selfish desires. I recognized that in their experience that they in turn were unkind, but I believe that when people react that way it is because they are experiencing a change as well. In the first of the movie the visual rhetoric that caught my attention was the immediate presence of the words in the courtroom “In God We Trust”. This foreshadowed for me the whole change that would take place in the life of Henry and his family throughout the movie. Bad things happen, but for our good. If you can recognize this in the placement of these words in the movie, they were contemplated and not by chance. The overall picture was that Henry was destined to experience a life altering change; to come full circle. In the beginning Henry was not a likable person; his values were displaced and did not bring real fulfillment or happiness for him or his wife and daughter. He was really lost trying to be someone who I believe even he would not have liked, as the movie portrayed so well. He was caught up in the table he didn’t like, winning even when it hurt other individuals, and in controlling and being attended to, admired. Henry was initially a very egocentric character, much like many who we deal with in our world, even sometimes myself. The world really revolved around him; in his apology to his daughter, it was more about him. He didn’t listen to his wife, was only concerned with his own issues. He was an egocentric individual. He was not likable at all. However, I did see the look in his eyes as he glanced at the victims in the courtroom, there was more to Henry than he was portraying by his choices, and lifestyle. In watching the change take place in him it made me really evaluate the changes that I would like to see take place in me. I would like to be less controlling, less of a bark and bite reaction to the circumstances I find myself in each day. I recognized in watching him try to learn to walk, talk, read, very much become childlike in essence to then overcome and reach the potential that he had within him. There is much we take for granted; that could be gone in the blink of an eye. I have hope that I will be able to make changes in my life without having to experience the loss and pain that he suffered. I thought to myself that things can always be worse than they are now, and that it is important to look at the challenges that I have been given and grow from them, evaluate them, learn and move on. Deciding who I am and what I enjoy and going for it is essential to happiness. I enjoyed understanding the character Bradley. He was a delightful person and exemplified the type of happy content person that I think we all seek to be. Whether we would choose to live a life of service or not, I think that people want to be happy with themselves; and he was. I really appreciated that the movie offered insight into why Bradley was such a happy person. Some of the advice I took away from the movie in Henry’s (and other characters) own words are, “Be patient, I’m trying”, “I thought I could go back to my life, I don’t like who I am”, “I changed”, “I had enough, I said when”. Bradley, “It was a test”, “Ask me if I mind having bad knees”, “Don’t listen to nobody trying to tell you who you are”, and “It might take a while but you’ll figure yourself out.” And finally the housekeeper, “I like you much better now.” I really enjoyed watching this movie in this way and for this purpose. I really believe that this will help me to consider my ways, who I am, who I want to be and to be thankful for the painful and oft times difficult challenges that I face, to recognize the growth and potential in them. I also hope to be more aware of how I interact with others. I hope I always remember to be patient, to change when I need to, to say enough when I have had enough, to know who I am regardless of what anyone else thinks, to figure out my beliefs and values, most important I want to like myself and to have no regrets at the end of each moment in time and finally to “trust in God”.