Indie Review: HENRY POOLE

PLEASE NOTE: Writing this review got out of hand a little bit, so I'm pretty sure at least half of the review interjects my own opinions that had nothing to do with the film. So, be forewarned.


Henry Poole Is Here



Starring- Luke Wilson, Radha Mitchell, Adriana Barraza, Morgan Lily, Rachel Seiferth, Cheryl Hines, Richard Benjamin, George Lopez



Directed by Mark Pellington



Grade: A



"All I see is a water stain from a lousy stucco job."

Religion is probably the touchiest subject that two strangers can talk about. More than politics, than sports, than relationships, religious beliefs are something that everybody has a pretty strong opinion about, whether they are firm believers in God, or think its an age-old facade. Having been on both sides of the intermittent fence over the course of my life, I can say with an open heart that its hard to discuss religion with strangers. There's nothing satisfying about someone persecuting my beliefs, nor is there anything redeeming when someone attempts to goad me into believing something I'm not comfortable accepting.

These two divided factions can easily persuade someone to love or hate Henry Poole Is Here. At times it tips its hand into being pro-Faith, but it never lets go of the wider message it tries to convey; the worst thing in the world is to not have faith and hope in something. If you believe in the healing power of God and Jesus Christ, great, but if you don't, that's certainly your prerogative. But for those who don't have anything or anyone to believe in, it's a long road ahead of you until you're able to lift the burden off of yourself and place it on something stronger, whether its God, Buddha or a positive affirmation that nothing exists beyond our existential world. And that's where Henry Poole scores its knockout.

Henry Poole (Luke Wilson) moves into in a non-descript Los Angeles neighborhood, pretty much ready to die. He has received a quite literal death sentence, and therefore has abandoned everything else in his life, intent on being alone. Not for very long, as Henry's meddlesome next door neighbor Esperanza (Babel's Adriana Barraza) finds a water stain on the outer stucco wall of his house, her devout faith declaring it to be the face of Jesus Christ. Soon the stain starts 'crying' blood, and the entire neighborhood starts to flock to Henry's house, much to his chagrin. Even more bothersome for Henry is the fact that they are supposedly being healed by touching the stain, including the traumatized daughter of his other neighbor Dawn (Radha Mitchell).

The story at first kind of sounds like a satire of the ultra-religious, the ones who stare into grilled cheese sandwiches and lima beans hoping to find their affirmation of Christ. But soon it becomes apparent that the stain isn't the focus of the story, but of the people and how each of them deals with what they believe in and how they feel they can help each other and themselves.

While God and the Catholic church are major thematic elements here, director Mark Pellington (Arlington Road, The Mothman Prophecies) attempts to transcend just a black and white story about the healing powers of God and the faithful. One can easily interpret that the stain doesn't necessarily heal its touchers because its a second coming of Jesus, but because they wanted something to affirm that they can overcome their obstacles. Same goes for Henry. He spent the entire movie running away from things he couldn't change, and while the ending may seem happy and set and cliche, we simply do not know if its the truth or just hope. What we do know is that faith and hope and love gets us through the day.

It's the little details that score big. The stain in the beginning appears ambiguous. Shots are purposely panned away from the stain itself, until as the film goes on and more people start to take notice, the shape gets darker and clearer. It might be a ploy, but it also symbolizes Henry's urgency unto himself to pay attention to the wall and find the missing piece within himself that everyone else has. With character names like Patience, Dawn, and Esperanza (Hope in Spanish), it's a subtle and unobtrusive nod that maybe everything in Henry's little world will be okay, which is the feeling that religious beliefs are supposed to invoke in the first place.

Luke Wilson definitely gives his best performance since The Royal Tenanbaums. When doing comedy roles, Wilson tends to err on the side of blandness, but he can really nail down the scruffy, depressed, cynic role. Just looking at him tells you so much about how many years of pain is built up inside of him. George Lopez is also a standout in a small role as a local priest, without being funny at all.

It is kind of disappointing the way Henry Poole is being marketed for the type of film it is. Billed as a comedy in some sources, with a quirky poster of the film's characters with quirky smiles, people may be led in to Henry Poole to expect a cute comedy and come out not expecting its heavier messages. Cheryl Hines' small role in the first act as Henry's real estate agent, and Barraza's highly religious and 'wacky' neighbor, at least in the beginning, do not gel quite right with the rest of film, and yet Hines gets a big headshot on the poster. I didn't know Cheryl Hines' name and face attracted moviegoers.

Whether or not you believe in God, Henry Poole's best selling point is making a finely crafted parable about people in different stages of grief, belief, and sweet relief. It leaves enough things open to interpretation without being pretentiously ambiguous. It shouldn't force you to change your mind about what you believe in, or how you should go about expressing that belief, but rather understand that not everybody can be persuaded into believing or disbelieving what they in their hearts understand to be true. Henry Poole has some odd music choices and little montage clips, but the idea behind it is much more heartfelt that most things you'll find in a cineplex.