1 Faith Review: HENRY POOLE IS HERE Reviewer: Ken Fuquay

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1 1 Faith Review: HENRY POOLE IS HERE Reviewer: Ken Fuquay Film Title: HENRY POOLE IS HERE Year: HENRY POOLE IS HERE was shot on location in La Mirada, California in 2006 and The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January The following month it was released to the European Film Market. However, it was not until August 2008 that the film was released to American Audiences. The USA release was a limited theatrical release. Over the next 12 months, Henry Poole Is Here was released theatrically in 7 nations, and on DVD in 9 nations. Director: Mark Pellington (U2 3D, The Mothman Prophecies) Original release form/venue: Henry Poole Is Here premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January It opened in a limited number of theatres across the United States of America on August 15, Current Availability and formats: The film is currently available in DVD formats. It is readily available for rent and/or purchase from most major movie rental companies and can be purchased on-line. It originally retailed at but is currently priced from 5.99 to Genre: Comedy/Drama. Story Elements: HENRY POOLE IS HERE is a dialogue-driven character film written for the screen by Albert Torres and directed by Mark Pellington. The main character, Henry Poole, played by Luke Wilson, is a sincere but cynical and world-weary thirty-something white American male who hasn t been happy in a long time. Bad news, the details of which are kept from the viewer until the back story is revealed mid-way through the film, strips Henry of any hope for happiness and sends him seeking anonymous oblivion in the last place he remembers being happy; the neighborhood where he grew up. Fortunately, the neighborhood has an interesting cast of characters who refuse to let Henry exist in isolation. Especially when the well-meaning and sometimes overbearing Esperanza discovers the face of God in a stucco stain on Henry Poole s patio wall. This is a very deliberately paced drama with an occasional humor and more than a little tension. The humor is light, not broad and never disenfranchising to the audience or the characters. The film is classified as comedy-drama, however, that is misleading. In addition to the strong themes and dramatic tension that emerges between Henry and Esperanza, an unexpected but heartwarming love story develops between Henry and his other neighbor, Dawn (Radha Mitchell). Dawn is Millie s mom. Millie is a sad seven year old, who like Henry, lives in her own sense of hopelessness. Henry s source of hopelessness and disillusionment is revealed as a series of flashbacks and through well scripted dialogue with Dawn. In their one and only romantic scene, Henry s otherwise dull and lifeless backyard is transformed into a candlelit table for only two, save the ever present face of Christ and Millie s cassette

2 2 Faith Review: HENRY POOLE IS HERE Reviewer: Ken Fuquay recorder. Millie, who is speechless herself, has a habit of recording conversations when it is least exhibited. Luke Wilson is well suited to play the depressed and hopeless Henry and Adriana Barraza is fantastic in the role of Esperanza. She is tenderly forceful and makes us all wish we had a neighbor like her. Esperanza translated to English means hope. It is not unwise to notice that the writer has purposely named Henry s love interest, Dawn, and the endearing blind girl, Patience. Names such as these are definitely fodder for theological conversations with this film. The somewhat slower pace of the storyline allows for a very well developed relationship between the characters and the audience. The ending is somewhat anticlimatic after such a long and heartfelt build up. But there is a twist in the closing scene that combined with an earlier flashback reveals the reasoning for the film s title. Miracles show up in unexpected places and through unexpected faces almost daily. The challenge is to see them through the eyes of hope. HENRY POOLE IS HERE is a story of a man without hope against those with hope. Film Language elements: Henry purchases a house in this neatly kept but otherwise unremarkable mixed Latino and Caucasian working class neighborhood. The blue stucco house is over-priced and in need of a few minor repairs, but negotiating a better deal and repairing the exterior is of no interest to a dying man. The interior of the house is purposely bare with the exception of a mattress, box springs, a chair, a television and a table. Only a handful of scenes occur inside Henry s house. The majority of the scenes in this ninetynine minute film take place in Henry Poole s backyard. It is large for this type of middle class neighborhood and may have, at one time, been a previous owner s personal paradise, but when Henry moves in the fenced-in lot is barren, unadorned and seemingly lifeless. The cinematographer brilliantly captures the space in a way that offers depth and dimension and keeps it from being visually redundant. As the story unfolds you can see the world in Henry Poole s backyard. Henry seeks seclusion with nothing more than his alcohol and pizza, but Esperanza is knocking at his door. Played by Academy Award Nominee Adriana Barraza, Esperanza is the nosey neighbor we tolerate because her character is so disarmingly compassionate and so believable. Henry s minor irritation with Esperanza s overbearing welcome-wagon antics turns into full-blown frustration and hostility when Esperanza is certain she can see the face of Jesus along with his holy shoulder in a brown water stain resulting from bad stucco work on Henry s patio wall. Throughout the movie, the director gives us a point of view (POV) shot from the apparition. We see what the face of Christ sees looking out into the backyard. At some point in the film, we see every main character standing and staring at the wall in bewilderment. We see it from the POV of the stain and in case the character is desperately trying to determine if the face of God is really there. There is a multitude of shots of the stain on the wall, but the director has taken great care to make sure that we are never really sure if the face of Christ is really there or really not there. Esperanza will not be detoured from her belief that the water stain is a holy apparition and soon solicits the help of Father Salazar (George Lopez) to convince Henry

3 3 Faith Review: HENRY POOLE IS HERE Reviewer: Ken Fuquay of the miracle in his backyard. The church does not easily declare miracles, but keeps an open mind, says Father Salazar. In a departure from his usual broad comedy characters, George Lopez imbibes Father Salazar with an element of genuine pastoral care rarely seen in priestly portrayals on the big screen. It is Father Salazar who first perceives that Henry is deeply troubled by more than his pesky neighbor and the water stain. Although it is Patience, (Rachel Seiferth) the almost-blind cashier, who diagnoses Henry s anger and sadness after only a couple of trips through her check-out line at the local grocery store. But it is not Esperanza, Father Salazar or Patience who chips away at Henry s self-imposed isolation as much and as deeply as the sad and silent seven year old, Millie (Morgan Lily), and her naturally beautiful and genuinely sweet mother, Dawn (Radha Mitchell). Millie, with her angelic face and big sad empty eyes, doesn t talk and hasn t talked since her Dad ran out on her and her Mom several years ago. Millie too, like Henry, has her own place of seclusion in her backyard. It is an interesting scene when Henry goes through the secret passage way in the fence and discovers the walls that Millie has built in her own backyard. Millie s cassette recorder is an interesting prop that Director Mark Pellington uses throughout the movie to reiterate and emphasize important dialogue. Henry hears the dialogue and it is as if a higher power is replaying the words in the universe. He walks toward the voices and he can see little Mille through the broken slatted fence on that side of his property. It s the same side of the house that has the water stain which may or may not be the face of Christ. In a depressed but tender way, Henry connects with Millie and unwittingly becomes her Esperanza; attempting to break through her silent walls. One quiet night, Henry s backyard is aglow with moonlight and Millie is standing at the patio wall reaching out to touch the holy apparition. Miracles begin to take place. Even the blind girl receives her sight. It gets harder for Henry to pretend it isn t happening and against his will Esperanza turns the backyard into a shrine and the two main characters deliver one of the film s most intense moments as Esperanza invades Henry s house and Henry attacks Esperanza s faith. If you can convince me then suddenly your beliefs become more real. Esperanza wears clothes that are bright and airy. She weeds his flower garden without asking. She enters Henry s house unannounced and light shines through the doorways. Some transitions are blurred to create the effect of not being able to see clearly, as is the case with Henry. The soundtrack includes haunting songs by Bob Dylan, Blur and Badly Drawn Boy. The music and lyrics are used strategically to emphasize plot points, aid in character development and set the mood of the film. An important piece of the storyline that aids in understanding the title is presented in montage format. A young Henry Poole is edited in with an old Henry Pool. Both make a frantic journey to the same safe place at the river. Several still shots of a bright blue sky with the sun hidden behind clouds are edited in as transition pieces throughout the film. Additionally, Henry s worn and tattered photo of him and his parents is an important prop and aids in understanding the back story.

4 4 Faith Review: HENRY POOLE IS HERE Reviewer: Ken Fuquay Audience/Cultural Context elements: Both the screen writer and director had a very specific goal for the movie. According to Albert Torres, he purposely wrote a screenplay that is passionate about the themes of hope and faith and miracles in everyday lives without being preaching or didactic. The film celebrates simple virtues and suggests that there is plenty of room in the world for faith, hope and charity. Mark Pellington stated in the Director Commentary on the DVD version, The journey for Henry is to find a little bit of faith and hope in life. The goal of the story is to help people see that if they re willing to open themselves up to it, life can be hopeful. The film was released in 2008, produced in 2006 and Therefore, the screen play was written several years prior to that, possibly around I m assuming the Gulf War, Y2K, 9-11 and the Iraqi War were cultural events that prompted Albert Torres to write an inspiring story that reminded a disillusioned and hopeless society that miracles still happen. Roger Ebert believes that the film achieves something that is uncommonly difficult. It is a spiritual movie with the power to emotionally touch believers, agnostics and atheists --- in that descending order. It doesn t say that religious beliefs are real. It simply says that belief is real. The overbearing but loving Latino character in conflict with the doubting and hostile white American male against the backdrop of a spiritual experience overseen by a catholic priest are poignant for culture today as it continues to wrestle with multiculturalism, immigration and the place of Christianity in a post-modern era. HENRY POOLE IS HERE was marketed as a comedy drama and carried the tag line: Changing his attitude will take a miracle. The film is rated PG for thematic elements and some language. There are three curse words used in the film. One of those used twice will be highly offensive to most Christian audiences. Specific audiences could view the film in its entirety for discussion, but poignant and non PG scenes can be lifted and used in a directed bible study or church class. Theology is found: The storyline deals directly with the theme of Christian faith and its power to restore hope and perform miracles in modern day culture. It is the face of Jesus and his holy shoulder that Esperanza sees in the wall. The movie is not ambiguous in this regard. Theology is planted in the name and actions of Esperanza. The dialogue is heavy with faith terminology and the themes are decidedly hope and faith. The conflict is doubt versus belief, hopelessness versus hope, science versus faith. Miracles happen, but the cynic, in this case Henry Poole, attempts to explain them away. At one point Esperanza asks Henry, Don t you believe in God, Mr. Poole? Patience touches the wall and cries, I can see clearly. It is also Patience who espouses that not everything can and should be explained. Theological themes for conversation:

5 5 Faith Review: HENRY POOLE IS HERE Reviewer: Ken Fuquay Hope and faith are the two major themes, but in addition to tying to those two themes, the following lines of script offer a multitude of theological directions that can be taken when using this film: o When life has knocked the wind out of your soul. o I m not going to be here that long. o It is the face of God. A sign from God. o Don t you believe in God, Mr. Poole? o Sometimes you have to be sad to remind yourself that you re alive. o So much doubt, Mr. Poole. o Stain. Bad stain. o The blood was real. o Anybody with two eyes can see. o You find out there is nowhere to hide. o It s not dark yet, but it s getting there. o Do you ever feel like things happen for no reason, and there s nothing you can do about it? o The door was open. o Why is it so hard for you to believe? o Why is it so important to you that I believe something like that could happen? o If you can convince me, then suddenly your beliefs become more real. o The more people you get to jump on your God s-on-the-wall mission, the more you make your mission. o You ll never have the kind of faith you want. o I touched the face. My body went warm. There was light in my eyes. I can see clearly. o It s getting harder to pretend this isn t happening. o I chose to believe. o I didn t think I would ever feel this way. o It s pretty miraculous. It s a gift. What do I believe? I believe science can eventually explain everything, but only if it gets a whole lot better than it is now and discovers realms we do not even suspect. You could call such a realm God. You could, of course, call it anything you wanted; it wouldn t matter to the realm. - Noam Chomsky

Journal of Religion & Film

Volume 12 Issue 2 October 2008 Journal of Religion & Film Article 10 7-20-2016 Henry Poole Is Here Chad W.D Bolton chad.bolton@mail.mcgill.ca Recommended Citation Bolton, Chad W.D (2016) "Henry Poole Is