Regarding Henry Analysis

Regarding Henry

The stipulations regarding one’s natural state and their reactions in the face of adversity resonates throughout the famous film Regarding Henry. In this classic, the main protagonist, Henry, is faced with the trauma of a gunshot wound to the head that rewinds him to his pre-learned experiences, like a child just starting to figure out the world once again. Because of this gunshot wound, Henry is transformed from his egocentric, cruel, business-man self revolving around his Id, which is the state of mind where he pursues everything he deems necessary for himself, to this kind, caring superego that exists only because of the traumatic event. Every learned experience Henry has ever endured is stripped away, and he starts his
Every action is taken into account on how it will affect the individual’s best interests, and this perfectly described Henry previous to the gunshot wound. He exhibited the qualities of a money obsessed lawyer, who through various unlawful cases, awarded himself money for the lap of luxury. Materials were the only thing close in Henry’s mind, and this is mostly seen after he was shot and his daughter explains how she liked his natural state of the superego better. Henry finds that he was lying in a major case that he previously cared to cover up and disregarded the victims of the case entirely. He also discovers his affair with one of his coworkers, in which he had disregarded all vows to his marriage only worrying about his benefit. One specific example of Henry’s Id would be the way in which he yelled at Rachel for a minute reason that could have been easily overlooked. Also the scene right before he was shot where despite being shot, he still only worried about getting his cigarettes, a pride issue. His Id took over his entire mindset towards not only his family and environment, but his morality and perspective on the
Henry’s superego becomes more prevalent after the shot was taken to the front of his brain. He suddenly becomes interested in the validity of his previous cases in which he wronged people. He also becomes concerned for others such as his daughter and his wife, and the desire to bond his family for good instills as his main priority. Henry’s kindness shows in the way he bonds with Buddy the dog and Bradley, and how he begins to look upon old colleagues with disrespect, knowing their true nature. A specific example would be when Henry quit his job for the simple reason he hated it and what it was doing to his family. Another would be the public display of affection he took part in with Sara, something he would not have done before, because he knew it would make her happy. Because of the gunshot, Henry’s superego presented itself much