Customer Reviews

Henry Poole Is Here : Widescreen Edition

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(36)
3 star:		(22)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Henry Poole (Luke Wilson) returns to the neighborhood where he grew up, wishing only to be left alone. A mysterious stain on the wall of his house becomes the catalyst for several unexplainable events, among them Henry's reconnection to the world.

I really had no idea what this movie was about going in. It's a quiet, gentle film with appealing characters whose message of faith creeps in rather subtly. Being a nonbeliever, I might not have gone to this film if I had known about the Christian, specifically Catholic, subtext, but I'm glad I did. Director Mark Pellington and writer Albert Torres do not hit us over the head with a message, but rather present a story in which faith means different things to different characters, and we are not forced to accept one interpretation as correct. This is a very touching, low-key film.

This movie came out the same week or two as Tropic Thunder, a film that featured several other members of the Frat Pack to which Luke belongs. Once again we see a difference between Luke and the others. Luke is the anti-hipster, often preferring sincere works that don't debase people. I am an Atheist but found this film to be low-key and charming. It firmly depicts someone suffering from depression who slowly makes a turn for the better. Yes, people may argue over the religious undercurrent of the film, which insults the nihilistic tendencies of young filmgoers, but one can also interpret the film's central theme of as renewal (our ability to change who we are).

The director said it best in the BD docu, "...a hopeless man finds hope". I was surprised that this film received no advertising for being a Luke Wilson film (no poster placement, strange pricing structures, limited release, etc.).

I have been playing it in the store for a couple days now and it truly captivated the crowds. The film contains a nice mix of suburban visuals with an excellent soundtrack that repeatedly catches the attention of those that might only be listening. It has become one of those films that sells itself but in a good way.

The story revolves around a man that is obviously extremely depressed that wants to skip human interaction by buying an empty suburban house. Instead he encounters several neighbors that end up changing his life and in the end, helping those that helped him. Regardless of the large volumes of hate one can find about this film out there (and I do mean a lot) I did not categorize this as a religious film, or an agenda film, I just saw a good emotional film filled with believers and non believers, love and incredible events.

The BD quality is excellent, and was very appropriate for this film with the amount of landscapes and overhead shots. The music sounded wonderful in the TrueHD (lots of music) and special features were worth the time. The production docu is informative, as was the commentary. The selling point though is the deleted scenes. They removed over 30 minutes from the film. A great deal of the questions I have read about this film (and was asking myself while watching) were answered here. Even after listening as to why the director removed them, I strongly disagreed and felt they should have been in the movie (hence I rated it one star lower). The scenes would have made the film a great deal more believable and would not have been lagging with all of these questions about why this whole event was happening.

Some nice performances, a solid BD, and a worthwhile film make the BD price here on Amazon a steal.

Ok, I will admit that my favorite genre of film is the character-based domestic drama, so take that into account when considering my recommendation. Of all the films I saw on cinema screens in 2008, I believe this one was the best. I found it to be artfully made, well-performed, thematically intriguing, and emotionally effective. All of that relies on a careful balancing act as the script unfolds, between the right pacing and character development and such.... all of which is difficult to evaluate objectively. But for me, it worked extremely well.

Given that the film includes religion-related themes, certain kinds of devout viewers may wish to note, however, that for some reason, the filmmakers decided to include more than one use of a two-word phrase that is often considered to be blasphemous. For those who aren't much concerned with that sort of thing, though, I would recommend watching this film if it looks at all interesting to you. I was pleasantly surprised to find it much more artful and convincing than I would have thought possible based upon what the previews had showed. Watching the previews, I merely thought "This has some potential. I guess I'll check it out if it actually gets released locally." After seeing it, my thought was "Darn! Another great film where I'm practically the only person in the audience and the cinema will replace it with a different film before I have a chance to come back and see it again." Fortunately, we have DVD now, to solve that problem! :-)

This movie prompted great discussion with my wife -- then I found myself replaying the dialogue in my mind for the next week. I took my kids to see it and, to my surprise, three of them absolutely loved it. They lived their childhoods in a poverty stricken country (until ages 12, 9, and 5), suffering hardships I probably will never understand. They connected with this movie in a powerful way. I realized that all of us have struggles, many of which we try to hide from everyone we see. In order to progress beyond our initial reactions, we need to surrender in some way -- moving past self-pity (or other selfish instincts) and gain an outward perspective. There is only one source of true joy, but it can be very painful to get there -- and it's a different road for all of us. Like Henry, we need Patience and Hope (in something real), and the Dawn will be there (as it was from the beginning). The movie is simple as it covers these concepts, but add in a great soundtrack, cool visuals, and some poignant conversations -- and even the Henry in all of us can make the change. I loved the understated ending -- for those of us who believe in miracles, we know the miracle was that Henry didn't do anything to help himself -- but he ultimately couldn't resist the change that was freely given to him. Miracle complete.

Briefly, Henry is presented with a series of unexplainable things (as he sees it) and has to decide what he truly believes.

I loved this film - but I like religious and philosphical films. I think they got this film just right and the performances are spot on. May be too slow and thoughtful for some - that is why Die Hard 4 is only a click away (which I also liked).

I am curious what others think of this film after watching it on DVD - presumably a larger audience than those that saw it at the theater (there was one person at the theater when I saw it - and that was me).

Wonderful indie movie with a very low budget but that doesn't detract from the messages in the characters. Henry Poole makes the statement several times, "I won't be living here that long" and that should be taken as his personal time left as well as the time all of us have to "live here."

In the first few scenes he buys a house and goes against the norm by telling the real estate agent to "give them their asking price" rather than haggle back and forth.

There is a subtle as well as an overt message from each character.

Thoroughly enjoyed it.

This film is perfect for a quiet family night. It is the story of a sad and angry man, Henry Poole, who wants to live in the one place where he was happy -- his childhood home. He can't buy it, so he buys one nearby. There, the neighbors at first seem eccentric, but as he comes to know them, and they begin to know him we, the viewers, are charmed by everyone.

The crux of the story involves a stain on his stucco. In this stain, people begin to see the face of Christ (Henry can't see it) and claim miraculous cures. Given some crucial facts about Henry (and I don't want to create a spoiler), this makes him even more bitter.

But his gentle neighbors take him as he is, and this film comes to a denouement that is truly transformational.

After the film finished, it led to some wonderful conversations among my family members. If miracles exist, do they matter? Does faith require miracles? What constitutes adequate loving kindness when our neighbors act wacky? What would WE do in this situation? Or in Henry's overall situation?

I loved this little film.

I loved this little film. Not sure where it was headed as the story unfolded. Thought it was going to be a downer but as the story got tighter, the theme enlarged to something wondrously life affirming.

I saw it on Blu-ray and loved the look of it -- the suburban locations and the way natural(?) light seemed to bathe or reflect or shimmer in many of the scenes. Very metaphorical -- perhaps by intention. And the music choices -- lots of music -- are as precise and fitting as the cinematography.

This overlooked gem is about Hope, Healing, Love, Community, Letting Go of Fear and Living in the Moment. (Yes, these words deserve caps.)

We're all going to die. All we have is now. So it's OK to live boldly and with love.

Sometimes, when we are without hope, hope will come and find us. Henry Poole is Here is a perfect little film about love, life, death, friendship, belief and miracles. It's so strange that I never heard about this movie until I stumbled upon it on cable. What a perfect film! Where was the advertising and hoopla that usually heralds the release of a movie in theatres, and again on DVD? Apparently, this was not directed at the teen audience, and it didn't provide enough death, violence and destruction to make it a blockbuster at the local cinema.

Buy this movie! Pass on the word! Henry Poole Is Here is a classic!