Review of Henry Poole Is Here (2008) by Jonathan M — 02 Sep 2013

I really do think this movie had potential, and I really wanted to like it, but there were simply too many issues when it came to execution. Most of the performances are solid, especially Luke Wilson's, but they all suffer from problems originating from the script.

People do things simply because the flimsy plot requires them to, and characters get into theological debates that wouldn't actually happen in real life because the screenwriter obviously doesn't understand the concept of subtlety.

I understand suspension of disbelief, but the movie consistently throws situations at the audience and simply tells them to just roll with it. And that may be fine with other genres, but when it comes to a drama like this, it needs to be as realistic as possible in order to be immersive.

I will say that this film isn't necessarily religious propaganda. It's not a message about having faith in a God, but more so a statement about having a positive outlook on the world and living life to it's fullest.

And while it's definitely a position that's done to death, this movie didn't portray that mindset obnoxiously. The movie sort of just presented it, but I think it could have felt more real and legitimately touching if the script were given a couple more rewrites.