Reviewing movies usually does not permit me to bluntly address you, my audience. I have tried to recreate my speech in previous reviews I've written. My voice should reveal itself through my writing. Sometimes, please forgive me; I will talk directly to you. When I encounter a film like Henry Poole is Here, I must reveal something personal. I am an atheist, audience this movie most assuredly doesn't expect. This, of course, stains my analysis of it (which is why you should always read three or so reviews of a movie).
There are many benefits to belief in a higher power (assuming one's religion has such). The blood of deities flows warmly into all who drink of it. They live with the expectation that something outside of their responsibility will protect them from harm. It doesn't matter if this actually happens, and Henry Poole is Here recognizes that. The film glorifies innocuous belief in some god, whether it is Christian or not. Since I'm not religious, I think I'm able to criticize the movie's failure to represent all aspects of intense belief. I felt it was a naïve movie, but I appreciated the effort to not attack those without faith. A movie like this one is only possible in a society like ours in North America. We've not yet disavowed our cultural dependency on religion like Western Europe has, so we have movies that aren't able to directly say "religion x is great." Many devoted religious people live Western Europe, of course, but religious overtones are not widely present in society. So, our non-specific faith-based films cutely display any religion's general goodness. A film like Henry Poole is Here wouldn't be made across the pond unless it was a completely independent project. Most people would have no need for it
Henry Poole moves into a neighborhood and notices a strange water stain on his home. His devout Hispanic neighbor says that it looks like Jesus, which Poole dismisses as lunacy. She convinces many people it is Jesus, so everyone violates property law to check. People consider it a miracle once individuals are healed after touching it. Poole is the most skeptical person ever and refuses to believe its power. He looks like a depressed guy (even more so as he continues to deny the Truth), the kind who you expect to commit suicide any minute. Anything negative about Poole's life would have sufficed (for this plot), as long as it was resolved when touched the stain. He indirectly does, when he succumbs to anger and smashes it. He finally realizes the stain is Jesus, or his silhouette, which collapses any strong support I offer the movie. All his problems vanish instantaneously. The ending struck me as inappropriately abrupt, as well as slightly condescending.
It's also extraordinary that Mark Pellington adapted a screenplay from such a trivial event. Everyone chuckles at the casino that bought Virgin Mary grill cheese sandwich. It's an absurd idea to think any stale food item could contain divine presence. Wouldn't a supreme deity chose any other way to manifest itself? Why would it conceal itself so discreetly? Assuming it has stereotypical human qualities, a deity would display itself inconspicuously. People are not so mysterious. Ayn Rand was at least able to acknowledge our selfish pursuit of seemingly everything. Humans, thus, are endowed with a certain inalienable penchant for self-infallibility. We look for evidence that doesn't exist when we interpret new data because we couldn't possibly be incorrect (stop reading for a moment). Henry Poole is Here offers us the chance to visualize this process as if it were realistic.
Unlike Lars and the Real Girl, another movie based on popular cultural occurrences, Henry is trapped by its own indulgence in its charming plot. The story meanders too long, including characters, backstory, and entire sequences for no adequately explored reason. Luke Wilson stays sharp, or rather, aloof as he guides Poole to his awakening. His somnolent eyes never permit us to leave his character. It's an eerily commanding performance. Wilson goes beyond requirements for his role, which allows individual intimacy with Henry. Shame the movie asks nothing more of him than getting Poole to believe.
15th of 2009 *** out of *****
*** out of *****
There are many benefits to belief in a higher power (assuming one's religion has such). The blood of deities flows warmly into all who drink of it. They live with the expectation that something outside of their responsibility will protect them from harm. It doesn't matter if this actually happens, and Henry Poole is Here recognizes that. The film glorifies innocuous belief in some god, whether it is Christian or not. Since I'm not religious, I think I'm able to criticize the movie's failure to represent all aspects of intense belief. I felt it was a naïve movie, but I appreciated the effort to not attack those without faith. A movie like this one is only possible in a society like ours in North America. We've not yet disavowed our cultural dependency on religion like Western Europe has, so we have movies that aren't able to directly say "religion x is great." Many devoted religious people live Western Europe, of course, but religious overtones are not widely present in society. So, our non-specific faith-based films cutely display any religion's general goodness. A film like Henry Poole is Here wouldn't be made across the pond unless it was a completely independent project. Most people would have no need for it
Henry Poole moves into a neighborhood and notices a strange water stain on his home. His devout Hispanic neighbor says that it looks like Jesus, which Poole dismisses as lunacy. She convinces many people it is Jesus, so everyone violates property law to check. People consider it a miracle once individuals are healed after touching it. Poole is the most skeptical person ever and refuses to believe its power. He looks like a depressed guy (even more so as he continues to deny the Truth), the kind who you expect to commit suicide any minute. Anything negative about Poole's life would have sufficed (for this plot), as long as it was resolved when touched the stain. He indirectly does, when he succumbs to anger and smashes it. He finally realizes the stain is Jesus, or his silhouette, which collapses any strong support I offer the movie. All his problems vanish instantaneously. The ending struck me as inappropriately abrupt, as well as slightly condescending.
It's also extraordinary that Mark Pellington adapted a screenplay from such a trivial event. Everyone chuckles at the casino that bought Virgin Mary grill cheese sandwich. It's an absurd idea to think any stale food item could contain divine presence. Wouldn't a supreme deity chose any other way to manifest itself? Why would it conceal itself so discreetly? Assuming it has stereotypical human qualities, a deity would display itself inconspicuously. People are not so mysterious. Ayn Rand was at least able to acknowledge our selfish pursuit of seemingly everything. Humans, thus, are endowed with a certain inalienable penchant for self-infallibility. We look for evidence that doesn't exist when we interpret new data because we couldn't possibly be incorrect (stop reading for a moment). Henry Poole is Here offers us the chance to visualize this process as if it were realistic.
Unlike Lars and the Real Girl, another movie based on popular cultural occurrences, Henry is trapped by its own indulgence in its charming plot. The story meanders too long, including characters, backstory, and entire sequences for no adequately explored reason. Luke Wilson stays sharp, or rather, aloof as he guides Poole to his awakening. His somnolent eyes never permit us to leave his character. It's an eerily commanding performance. Wilson goes beyond requirements for his role, which allows individual intimacy with Henry. Shame the movie asks nothing more of him than getting Poole to believe.
15th of 2009 *** out of *****
*** out of *****