Review of Henry Poole Is Here (2008) by Philip S — 11 Mar 2009

Henry Poole is here. And his story is one of the most touching, inspirational, heartfelt, and original stories to be written in a very long time. The movie is so wonderful due to it being so multi-faceted. It's a movie about life. It's a movie about love. And it's also a movie about faith. Director Mark Pellington, though, does point out in the commentary that he and writer Albert Torres never intended the story to be solely one of religion. They did acknowledge that there would obviously be many people who would notice the religious theme of the story more than anything else. What made that comment so good was that they were glad people would see that. But they did point out that it was not just about religion. They point out that the movie only asks audiences what do they believe, rather than being preachy.

That preachy aspect is something that Pellington and Torres openly discuss in the movie's commentary (which anyone who rents this dvd is recommended to listen to as it adds so much more to the story). They use Esperanza as the model of what causes people to shy away from religion. They state that people need to have their own epxeriences in order to come to their own faith, rather than be pushed to it, as happens so often. Esperanza keeps pushing Henry to believe in what was heppening to people because they touched the stain on his house that resembled the face of Jesus. This pushiness is what causes many people to shun religion.

The religious aspect of Henry Poole is not the only factor taht makes it so impressive. Yes there is a love story in the movie, but it was only one minor part of Henry's story. It helped to show Henry's personal development as a character. Without his experience with his neighbor, he would not have reached the high, and subsequent low that he reached, leading to the final resolution of things. His neighbor's daughter, Millie plays an integral part in the story, too. As is noted in the commentary, she and Henry sort of mirror each other in taht they are both in a very dark place. As a result of this, they kind of help each other try to come out of that dark place. That goes back to the discussion of the miracles, and Pellington's statement that the movie doesn't try to shove religion down the audience's throat. It merely asks what the audience believe. Did Millie start talking because of Henry, or because she touched the stain, and it healed her pain? That is up to the belief of every different audience.

On another level, the whole basis of the movie revolved around Henry's condition. That leads to another faith based discussion. Was his diagnosis real or was it a result of a botched blood test? That story leads to the story between Henry and hiw neighbor.

So much more could be said about Henry Poole. But that could take up so much more space. The simple fact of the matter is that Henry Poole is here. And no matter the success of the movie on DVD, Henry Poole will be here for a very long time.