Good intentions, and a rare attempt to embrace spirituality on screen, aren't enough to make Henry Poole is Here a worthy destination.
Henry Poole Is Here (2008)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:85
Fresh:32
Rotten:53
Average Rating:5/10
Consensus: Full of Hallmark-truisms and pop songs presented with strained significance, this comic foible intends less to convert than to preach to the choir.
Rated: PG [See Full Rating] for thematic elements and some language.
Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:Aug 15, 2008 Limited
Box Office: $1,749,146
Synopsis: For a man who seems to be living a perfect life--comfortable, engaged, full of opportunity--the discovery in a routine doctor's checkup that all is not well prompts Henry Poole to flee. He finds... For a man who seems to be living a perfect life--comfortable, engaged, full of opportunity--the discovery in a routine doctor's checkup that all is not well prompts Henry Poole to flee. He finds himself alone in a new house and a new place, somewhere where perhaps he can try to escape the fate that he has been dealt. It's a house in a working-class suburb with neighbors who welcome him, or at least try to; he finds them rather unattractive, frankly, but fine for his purposes. But life won't let him alone. His neighbors' intrusions, the discovery of a "miracle" on a backyard wall, and the attentions of a little girl with a tape recorder disrupt whatever hopes he had for hiding out. Director Mark Pellington revisits Sundance (Going All the Way played at the 1997 Festival) with a very personal work about devastation and the need to find yourself. Inspired by Pellington's own loss, Henry Poole Is Here is a work that is soul searching in the best sense of the word. Poignant, yet acerbic and funny, it tells us about faith, the vagaries of life and death, and personal salvation. Powered by a resonant performance from the remarkable Luke Wilson, Henry Poole Is Here is full of small moments and meanings that make it a memorable film. -- © Sundance Film Festival [More]
Starring: Luke Wilson, George Lopez, Cheryl Hines, Radha Mitchell
Starring: Luke Wilson, George Lopez, Cheryl Hines, Radha Mitchell, Adriana Barraza
Director: Mark Pellington
Director: Mark Pellington
Screenwriter: Albert Torres
Studio: Overture Films
Reviews for Henry Poole Is Here
There is something contrived about this story in which people with major problems find a resolution.
Drives home the themes in a natural and honest way that never comes off as preachy.
Despite an excellent performance by Luke Wilson and a promising start, Henry Poole is Here ends up an overindulgent misfire. [Blu-ray]
One of the best films of the year. You'll laugh, You'll Cry... You'll truly appreciate life!
It never even gestures at the philosophical heavy lifting of exploring alternate interpretations of ambiguous events.
The Lord may work in mysterious ways, but the filmmakers behind sensitive, life-affirming indie dramas about brooding young men stumbling towards redemption are an awfully predictable lot.
If you're a sucker for a New Age-meets-old-time-religion tale and you have nothing else to do this weekend, then this one's for you. Everyone else should stay home.
Wilson plays disillusionment convincingly, the supporting cast (especially Barraza) is golden, and director Mark Pellington has just the right touch to bring off a teary-eyed inspirational drama.
Although the ending is unsurprising, Henry Poole remains an interesting character.
Henry too often seems like a suffering cipher rather than a real guy with real problems.
There may well be a market for simple-minded, high-budget tales of Christian redemption; if so, Henry Poole should do very well at the box office.
There's a version of Henry Poole is Here that I would've liked to see, and the painful thing is that it's not that far off from the real thing.
I went as someone who finds religion a 50-50 mix of fascinating and indigestible. I came out the same and have no expectations of encountering a stucco savior any time soon.
A stronger script focus and less unanswered questions about Henry Poole might have made the film more appealing.
Henry Poole Is Here is a movie that asks all the big questions and then, weirdly, wrecks itself by offering puny answers.
Thanks to Wilson's sympathetic performance and Pellington's restraint, Henry Poole is Here may just succeed in warming hearts and lifting spirits.
Latest News for Henry Poole Is Here
April 27, 2008:
Trailer & Poster review ![]()
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