The premise of this story has been appropriated a few times. It’s a pretty simple idea, and the variety of ways that it has been handled has tainted my perception of what this story should be like. I expected something more manipulative. Something that really pulled at the heartstrings and made it entirely clear that he is now a better man. While there are touching moments, the direction and the acting is handled with class, and it doesn’t feel like the audience is being shepherded into a tearjerker of a movie.
Harrison Ford does a very good job of handling a variety of mannerisms. He stutters slightly. He looks uncomfortable and vaguely confused. But he doesn’t look like someone who is desperately trying to communicate those ideas. He handles these situations realistically. He can pick up that he’s supposed to know someone, and he knows he’s able to play along, just not very well.
His relationships with his wife and daughter are at the core of the story. In particular, his daughter winds up teaching him a variety of skills that he forgot. His wife…
His wife is the weak link in the movie. She’s played perfectly fine, but it’s difficult to like her. She lies to herself and to others, and she seems more concerned with keeping up appearances than a good person would.
I have a hard time buying the idea that the firm would be willing to keep him even after he’s lost all of his legal knowledge. I have no idea what he’s doing there, and I can’t imagine that goodwill would keep him there for very long.
There’s a message to be understood from this movie… about the nature of identity, possibly how we can be shaped by events far in our past. But that’s only hinted at after thinking for a long time. As interesting as this movie is, I left it feeling like it had nothing to say.
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