Review of Henry Poole Is Here (2008) by Moviefail — 16 Aug 2010

Luke Wilson gives it his best shot in this altogether middling film in the indy genre. The first half of the movie implies a fascinating history and character development for Mr. Poole, a dejected, dying man in the final throes of life.

His interactions with (ultimately minor, unfortunately) characters such as the supermarket cashier give insight to his life, and intimate to the audience that there is hope that maybe Henry Poole will have some redeeming qualities beneath his rough exterior.

Dismayingly, the film does nothing to follow through with the promise of its strong start. Instead of being a fascinating character study, the film takes a decidedly Hollywood approach to Mr. Poole's troubles.

After finding a stain in the shape of the Virgin Mary on the wall of his house, the entire neighborhood, comprised largely of stereotypical Hispanic Catholics, come to pray and turn his house into a religious destination site.

This is of course troubles Poole, who only wants to be left alone. This turn of plot, and the introduction of a religious element, marks the downfall of this film. As beautiful as the concept of a magical religious figure appearing and saving everyone is, this idea works only in theory.

The movie plays out essentially a deus ex machina-style scenario to conclude the film, something which does not fit the tone of the first half at all. If we never got a chance to really learn about this character, then why would we accept that he deserves this massive salvation? Overall, this movie plods along and doesn't go really anywhere, despite a good first impression.

It is unfortunate, because I could see how, without the cheesy religious aspect that made it feel so artificial, this movie could have been an excellent little flick- not to mention showcase for Luke Wilson, who, as per usual, manages to deliver a great performance in spite of the story.