Movie review: Henry Poole Is Here

by Alex Bentley

Henry Poole Is Here

Henry Poole just wants to disappear. Shattered by circumstances beyond his control, he offers full price on a cookie cutter house in a drab, middle-class, L.A. neighborhood through his perky realtor Meg. But, just as he settles in to his indulgent isolation with a case of vodka and all the junk food he can eat, his neighbor, a well-meaning busybody named Esperanza, drops by with a plate of homemade tamales and a whole lot of questions. Despite his desire for solitude, Henry can't help noticing Dawn, the beautiful young divorcée next door and her daughter Millie, an eight-year-old amateur spy who hasn't spoken a word since her parents' break-up. Henry's self-imposed exile is shattered when Esperanza discovers a mysterious stain on Henry's stucco wall that is seen to have miraculous powers. She begins leading pilgrimages to the "holy site" and invites church officials, including her pastor, Father Salizar, to inspect the apparition. Although Henry remains skeptical, he finds himself gradually drawn back towards life, especially after his silent friendship with Millie brings him closer to Dawn. As news of the apparition spreads throughout the neighborhood and his feelings for Dawn grow, Henry realizes his plan to live out his days in quiet desperation is going to be much harder than he ever imagined.

Source: Cinema Source

Showtimes and more on Henry Poole Is Here

Henry Poole Is Here is listed as a comedy and a drama (or dramedy, if you will) on its IMDb.com page. Let’s set the record straight right away – this is no comedy. There are one or two slightly humorous moments throughout its 100-minute running time, but that does not a comedy make.

Of course, it’s easy to see why producers might want to market it as such, seeing as how it features three actors (Luke Wilson, George Lopez, and Cheryl Hines) more known for their comedic work than anything else. However, none of them elicits so much as a chuckle in this film, and, in this case, that is an unexpected and appreciated thing.

Wilson plays the titular character who, when we first meet him, appears to be one of the most depressed characters ever put on film. He buys a $325,000 house in massive need of repair virtually sight unseen, subsists on a diet of vodka, frozen pizza, and Krispy Kreme donuts, and generally shuts himself off from the world.

There are four faces in this picture, if you believe Esperanza.

His solitude is soon intruded upon by Esperanza (Adriana Barraza), his next door neighbor. She discovers what she believes to be the face of Jesus in a water stain on the wall of his house, and is soon bringing her priest, Father Salazar (Lopez), and fellow believers to pray to the wall. At the same time, Henry discovers that Millie (Morgan Lily), the daughter of his other next door neighbor Dawn (Radha Mitchell), likes to eavesdrop on and record conversations that he has in his backyard. When the water stain face apparently starts leaking blood, Henry must face an onslaught of attention that is the exact opposite of what he wants in his life now. How he deals with that and a budding romance with Dawn provides the crux of the film.

Henry Poole Is Here is surprising on several levels – mostly good, but some bad. On the positive end, seeing the serious sides of Wilson and especially Lopez is a welcome respite from some of their other work. Wilson is certainly no stranger to more serious roles, but his attachment to Henry Poole feels much stronger than most of his other characters, and that connection keeps the film afloat even in its weaker moments. Lopez is actually a revelation as Father Salazar. He plays the role completely straight, without a hint of his comedic persona that grated in Swing Vote. Consequently, he’s quite touching and believable in everything he’s asked to do.

The believer vs. the cynic -- who will win?

The film also does an effective job of exploring what it means to have faith, even if it gets a tad reductive toward the end. The arguments between Esperanza the believer and Henry the cynic aren’t anything you haven’t heard before in better theological debates, but they give the film just the right heft and momentum toward its logical conclusion. Of course, that the film has a logical conclusion is one of its problems. Once the audience learns the reason for Henry’s depressed state, the ending to the film is all but telegraphed. If director Mark Pellington (Arlington Road) could have found a way to bring more suspense to the film, then the emotional payoff would have been greater.

However, that doesn’t take away from the uniformly excellent actors populating the film. In addition to Wilson and Lopez, Barranza, Mitchell, and Lily all deliver interesting, nuanced performances, with Lily possibly becoming the next big child star in the process. Whenever the film threatens to become bogged down in negativity, each brings a breath of fresh air that sustains it till the very end. It’s no comedy, but Henry Poole Is Here has enough light moments to make it a complete film.