User Reviews

Luke Wilson is hard not to like. I've tried to dislike him but he slipped by me.

I wish this film had maintained a more consistent comic tone. I think if JD Salinger had been on the set, he would have said, "hey, can we throw some jokes here near the end?"

At the beginning of the film, I like when Luke chastises the ladies for their trespasses, then he singles out the old woman and they cut to her. It seems to break the damn "tone" of the film but I liked it anyway.

Not much later, he and the little girl are in the yard and he makes a joke WHICH SHE DOESN'T LAUGH AT, that "he has to go/he's busy" then he hops on the stationary bike. This is a sophisticated joke, very dry and subtle to deal to a little girl and it suggests that he's respecting her intelligence. She doesn't laugh and neither does he. Of course, she's "mute" but she also doesn't FAKE laugh, to indicate that she gets it. Neither does he. That's a nice moment. Also nice because he's depressed out of his skull but the girl brings intentional humor out of him.

It's hard for a kid to dislike an adult who doesn't insult their intelligence as it's hard not to like a kid who shuts up once in a while.

Then there's the bit about the clumsy blood-taker. Unnecessary but still appreciated, trying to keep it light.

This is an ambitious film that tries to say a lot with music, light, some video-style editing, sun and memory. All the indy music was a bit much but who am I to criticize indy music? Nobody, that's who.

Esperanza Martinez, who plays the irritating neighbor, is so good I sometimes wanted to kill her and wished Luke would, she was so damn irritating.

When Luke woke up in the hospital and found Esperanza, if he had just called for security, I'd have been more happy.

I just wish the film hadn't lost it's sense of humor somewhere along the line.

Most people who want to believe in divine apparitions, spot iconic forms in the most incredible places. Their perception of what they find is based on the representation we all have been led to accept as the way those saintly individuals have been depicted in paintings dating from ancient times.

This is exactly what a nosy neighbor, Esperanza, sees on a wall that had been recently painted in the backyard of Henry Poole, a depressed young man that is suffering from sadness and depression. Henry decided to buy a house near the one where he grew up. That place was not for sale, so Henry opted for the next best thing, a house in the same block. In flashbacks we get to know the root of his problems; he is afflicted by a rare disease that is terminal. While Henry awaits for his death, he decides to spend his time alone near the place where he was happy once.

What Henry didn't bargained for was a neighbor like Esperanza. She stirs things up when she brings her church's pastor to take a look of that mysterious form believed to even drip blood. Henry couldn't care less about miracles, or supernatural things. The young woman next door, a single mother, begins to warm up to Henry. Her little girl Millie, goes around with a portable tape recording eavesdropping on her neighbor, who doesn't find it amusing, until he is told the girl doesn't speak because of the trauma caused by her deserting father who has gone away without explanation.

Henry Poole has to reflect on his life and his death; he drinks a lot, something the friendly cashier, Patience, at the supermarket he shops, tells him. Patience shows up at Henry's backyard one day to see the famous image on the wall. Suddenly, she can see without using her thick glasses, something she thinks is a miracle. Something similar occurs to Millie. The little girl begins to speak without any logical explanation. Esperanza suggests him to ask for a miracle as she finds out what's wrong with him. Unfortunately, he has had it with people and he knocks the wall down.

Mark Pellington directed this interesting film that questions how humans deals with matters of faith. The discovery of what is perceived to be sacred and what is just not so. It also deals with the way we cling to hope when a crisis, such as an illness, or a situation, that will be a test in one's faith. The screenplay is by Albert Torres.

Luke Wilson, an actor that has played a lot of comedy in his career, shows a serious side of himself, no doubt guided by Mr. Pellington to give an outstanding performance as Henry, a man that finds himself at a crossroad in his life. The wonderful Adriana Barraza, who plays Esperanza, makes a tremendous contribution to our enjoyment of the film with her well intentioned, but gossipy neighbor. Rhada Mitchell does a fine job with her next door neighbor, Dawn. Also in the cast, Cheryl Hines, Richard Benjamin and the adorable Morgan Lilly.

"Henry Poole is Here" is a serious film that deserves a viewing because it will disarm even the skeptics.

Luke Wilson is a man who wants to live a life of quiet desperation and drown his sorrows in as much alcohol as possible. However when the house he buys develops a water stain in the stucco in the back which a neighbor takes to be the face of God, he's forced to interact with the people around him.

Amusing little tale that somehow puts together all of its wild characters and makes it into an enjoyable comedy about how one person's faith affects those around him. I liked it. I really don't know what else to say beyond that.

Between 6 and 7 out of 10

I'm surprised by the largely positive reviews of this film. Maybe it's a cultural thing, I'm a European living in California. We went to see this movie on the back of some positive press reviews. It starts well, but I was misled by it's start. I thought this was going to be more of a skeptical movie about the way religious people fool themselves into believing what they want to believe (a little like the sentiments behind "Life of Brian"). But no, the start is deceptive, as the film progresses, it actually wants to start to make you believe that a stain on the wall of a (supposedly) terminally ill mans house is the face of god, sheds blood and has magical powers. Sorry, I couldn't suspend my disbelief and the whole film then fell apart for me.

The lead character is supposed to be terminally ill, but his disease is unnamed, which I suppose is a good thing as it's difficult to believe what it could be as his only symptoms seem to be stubble and a craving for vodka and pizza. There is of course a beautiful woman who just happens to live next door who just happens to have a cute troubled 6 year old daughter, who of course the lead character falls in love with.

The whole thing descends into nauseating, saccharine, formulaic cinema. Towards the end I was beginning to laugh out loud in the cinema at the predictable happy every after ending, it seemed almost like some kind of spoof or wind up it was so corny.

But I suppose, if other people liked this then maybe it's a cultural thing. The US is a much more religious country than mine. I suppose that explains how George Bush got in - right?

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 *****

You've had your spoiler warning, so leave now because I'm going to tell you the whole story in one sentence.

This is literally a story about a man who has to have a house fall on him to get a second opinion for a terminal disease diagnosis.

Turns out, he was never sick at all! The mysterious disease that at once was killing him and making him better looking throughout the movie turned out to be a complete sham. Much as this movie is a complete sham.

The rest of the plot is just junk piled on top of this false premise. Any rational conversation the movie was trying to have with the audience completely collapses when it is revealed that the whole movie is just a con job.

The music deserves special mention and scorn. Many of the 'big' emotional moments are simply montage shots with some faux-Celtic female folk singing playing while the main character looks out at a sunset or climbs underneath a bridge to retrieve childhood memories or maybe just stares at some stucco on the side of a house while the audience is left to its own.

This movie would have been an embarrassment for Hallmark on the Lifetime channel. I saw it for free on StarZ and want my money back!

I don't need explosions or boobs to enjoy a movie. Great movies can be simple in terms of story and budget. In this case, Henry Poole is Here attempts to force-feed you a pro-hope message, counting on the dialog to keep you ignoring the fact they filmed this movie down the street from your house in about a day and a half. Luke Wilson is the only standout and even he struggles to come off believable.

Esperanza's character needed a strong actress in order to make her seem genuine. Instead, we have a chubby lady with a Latina accent who refuses to stop annoying Henry.

The ending was a forgone conclusion when Henry predictably destroys the water stain. Oh, and guess what? You were never sick. Your doctor incorrectly diagnosed you with an incurable, extremely rare disease but, thanks to hope, you were never ill to begin with. This movie comes off like a mandatory bad high school assembly play. See that everyone? So, stay hopeful and everything, OK?

Don't be fooled.

First off, I guess I should throw it out there that I walked into this movie expecting some type of humorous Biblical satire. My expectations were right about everything but the humorousness and satire. There was only one scene that I actually found funny and it frightened all the other 7 people in the theater and other than that I was just laughing at how seriously in love everyone was with Jesus.

The low down goes like this, Henry Poole has some type of mystically rare disease that they never mentioned and he's going to die. He moves into the neighborhood he used to live in and blah blah. His crazy God-loving Spanish neighbor sees Jesus on his freshly stuccoed wall. Somebody cries. "What's wrong with you?" Spanish chick brings people over. Somebody touches the wall, surprise! a miracle. People cry. Another miracle. More people come over. He goes for a walk, throws a picture of a wall. Dinner. "She won't even look at me". Henry breaks down his own house. "The blood was real". And the ending, oh dear Satan, the ending. I don't even wanna talk about it.

It was like a Lifetime movie and the Hallmark channel had a baby, and that baby was Jesus. When I watched Henry Poole Is Here a felt like something else was there, oh yea, indigestion.

Unless you're a Bible banger or have some secret love for Jesus, save your money and your time.

Henry Poole is sad. Sad and angry. No, make that sad, angry and just a little mean. Initially, we don't know why but, naturally, we eventually find out, but EVER. SO. SLOWLY.

What we do know is that he's newly arrived in a small Californian suburb where everybody knows your business, sometimes before you do - and that doesn't bode well for a man who would rather be hiding under a rock somewhere no other humans congregate.

Unfortunately for poor old Henry, a miracle occurs in his backyard and his dreams of solitude are shattered but, in exchange, he gains something so much more valuable; redemption, freedom and the ability to smile again.

There's no doubt this is a beautiful film, one that is lovingly shot and sympathetically cast, however it sits smack damn in the middle of the road between being a wonderful, heartwarming tear-jerker filled with poignant life lessons and a rather average, overly slow, wannabe lesson on the power of faith.

If you've ever been sad or lonely or just felt a little hopeless (and who hasn't?), you'll probably enjoy it - or at the very least be thinking of it - and grumpy old Henry - long after you watch this film.

Caveat: This review may contain some spoilers. However, I'll keep it vague and I promise not to reveal any plot or story twists.

I'm not a religious person per se but I do on occasion like a spiritually uplifting movie. Is this that type of movie? Well, sort of. Let's put it this way, it has a spiritual message. But getting there is a bit of a downer.

The movie is about a guy who moves into a rental house that's a few houses down from the one in which he grew up. To say this guy is depressed is like saying Homer's Odyssey is a story about a boat trip. The thing is, this guy wants to be left alone. He wants to sit in his rental house and stare at the walls. He's short on patience, and he's quite rude to his neighbors and some of the people he meets in town.

Obviously, and you realize this right away, this movie is about a person who is about to go through a character arc, and with all character arcs, something needs to happen to trigger the transformation. The 'something' in this story turns out to be what one neighbor -- and soon the whole neighborhood -- believes is the image of Jesus in a stucco stain on the side of the main character's house.

I actually liked this movie. I'm a fan of Luke Wilson, and I thought the supporting cast did a terrific job. This is a slow, purposeful movie with a strong spiritual and even a religious side to it. I won't give away the ending except to say that I think it does something unintended. On the face of it, it delivers spiritually and religiously, but it does so in a way that makes you question the depths of the main character's true motivation. Was he simply depressed because of his situation, or was something else going on in his head? For me, when the movie ended and I thought about it a little, I realized it was all allegory.

Bob