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 he can try to escape the fate he's been dealt.

The people in his working-class neighborhood try to welcome him, but he finds them rather unattractive. 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.

Review
The seemingly innocuous title of this film is a clue to the rest of the movie. Filled with significant little moments, the whole is a masterpiece of subtle moments woven together into a story about the loss of hope and how dark life is without it. When the film opens, Henry is buying a house and driving a car with a garbage bag for a back window. From flashbacks, we see that he had a good job, a fiancé and good prospects for the future. But a visit to the doctor's office changes everything.

When Henry learns he has only a short time to live, he begins to shut down. He doesn't want to see anyone or talk with anyone, except to buy frozen pizza and alcohol at the local convenience store. One neighbor's daughter tapes his conversations and the other, a woman named Esperanza (Spanish for "hope") is convinced she sees the face of Jesus on the side of his house. Despite his best efforts, Henry isn't left alone to wallow in his grief.

The film is very well cast, with Luke Wilson showing the depths of his dramatic abilities and George Lopez in an unusually serious role. Adriana Barraza as Esperanza is the hopeful believer who is relentlessly optimistic, even through her own tragedy. Radha Mitchell is delightful as Henry's neighbor, and Morgan Lily as her daughter Millie is luminously beautiful.

Hope Worth Seeing
As the film progresses, more and more people arrive to see the miraculous sign on Henry's wall. And the more they insist on its reality, the more Henry pushes back against their hope. Where they seek faith and hope to deal with their loss and pain, Henry chooses to stuff it all inside where no one can see it and maybe he can forget it.

Henry Poole Is Here is one of the most powerful films about hope that I've seen in a long time. The power is in the myriad of small moments so meaningful they take your breath away. Remarkable also is the beautiful treatment of belief and its power to lift us up from despair to a place of hope. At one point in the film, Esperanza tells Henry that he's not looking at what others are seeing, and we realize that is true for us as well; sometimes when God is moving and we don't see it, it's because we're not looking.

Several critics panned this movie as being full of "Hallmark truisms" and pop songs strained with significance, intended to preach to the choir. Maybe they're not seeing the value of this film because they're not looking.

Rating
Henry Poole Is Here is rated PG for thematic elements and some language.

Courtesy of a national publicist Angela screened a promotional copy of Henry Poole Is Here.