Henry Poole Is Here (PG, 2008)

Henry Poole (Luke Wilson) drives a banged-up car with a knocked-out rear windshield he doesn't bother replacing, buys a house he doesn't seem interested in furnishing, and spends his days despondent, eating doughnuts and drinking. In short, he's given up on life. And why shouldn't he? His doctor says he's dying from an unidentified illness, and, as Henry likes to say by way of explanation, he "won't be here very long." But then well-meaning neighbor Esperanza (Adriana Barraza) befriends him, and soon she's claiming to see the face of Christ on Henry's stucco siding. (He thinks it's a stain.) It's not just her, too; others eager for succor and relief have begun making the pilgrimage to Henry's lowly bungalow. Plus, a sad, sweet little girl (Morgan Lily) who lives next door and seems to be fighting her own demons finds her way into his heart -- as does her mother (Radha Mitchell). With friends like these, how can Henry not have faith?

Though it's hobbled by a murky, sometimes mawkish script (sample dialogue: "You can't go to the past to get to the present"), HENRY POOLE IS HERE is still surprisingly interesting, if only because it dares to wear its faith on its sleeve. Irony doesn't live here, and that's very refreshing -- as is the courage to take on such a complicated subject. Wilson is perfect for the job; he's the picture of man defeated, shuffling to an inevitable death. Henry fights any hope that's sent his way -- including the appropriately named Esperanza -- and Wilson makes his struggles palpable. Here is a man who doesn't want to believe but is confronted with many reasons why he might want to.

Still, you have to wonder how much stronger the movie would have been had the filmmakers trimmed down some of the more portentous bits. Nearly every epiphany is foreshadowed, and situations are rigged for maximum tearjerking effect, which, of course, renders them that much less potent. For instance, must grocery girl Patience be saddled with such an obvious name (not to mention Coke-bottle glasses) when she is, quite plainly, supposed to be the character who sees life so clearly? Tonally, too, the movie is all over the place; one minute it's funny, the next it's somber. Even though we already want to believe, director Mark Pellington makes sure to milk the emotion in nearly every scene so that nothing's left to serendipity, leaving little reason for us to take a leap of faith.

Studio: Overture Films
Director: Mark Pellington
Cast: George Lopez, Luke Wilson, Radha Mitchell
Genre: Drama
Run time: 100 minutes
Theatrical release: August 15, 2008
DVD release: January 20, 2009
MPAA Rating: PG
MPAA explanation: thematic elements and some language.