for being about faith without being preachy
Technically, this movie opened yesterday, and I should have put up the review then. But I already had two reviews set to go up, and three posts in one day seemed a tad crowded to me. Besides, I don’t think many people are going to rush off and see Henry Poole is Here on a Friday night. It is more of a lazy Sunday morning movie.
Henry Poole is dying. Although, we never learn from what, he does say he won’t be around long. But he’s gone back to his childhood home… or at least he tried. Instead, he bought the house down the street. He has a Hispanic neighbor who used to date the man who previously owned the house (who died of a heart attack in the kitchen). He also has a neighbor whose husband ran out on her and their child, a daughter who hasn’t spoken in a year. And he’s got a water stain in the shape of Jesus in his stucco.
Its that last thing that causes the most problems.
Henry Poole is Here is a movie about faith, about belief in something greater, but at no point does it come out and shove any particular religion down your throat. It also never says anything remotely close to people who don’t believe going to Hell or anything. It is more a message of, “Having hope is better than having no hope.”
I enjoyed it. Not the greatest film ever made, but far from the worst. I can think of plenty of worse ways to spend an hour and a half.