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Movies / On DVD / Henry Poole Is Here
Henry Poole Is Here

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Henry Poole Is Here (2008)

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Reviews Counted:84

Fresh:32

Rotten:52

Average Rating:5/10

Consensus: Full of Hallmark-truisms and pop songs presented with strained significance, this comic foible intends less to convert than to preach to the choir.

Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins

Genre: Comedies

US Box Office: $1,749,146

Synopsis: 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... 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 where perhaps he can try to escape the fate that he has been dealt. It's a house in a working-class suburb with neighbors who welcome him, or at least try to; he finds them rather unattractive, frankly, but fine for his purposes. 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. Director Mark Pellington revisits Sundance (Going All the Way played at the 1997 Festival) with a very personal work about devastation and the need to find yourself. Inspired by Pellington's own loss, Henry Poole Is Here is a work that is soul searching in the best sense of the word. Poignant, yet acerbic and funny, it tells us about faith, the vagaries of life and death, and personal salvation. Powered by a resonant performance from the remarkable Luke Wilson, Henry Poole Is Here is full of small moments and meanings that make it a memorable film. -- © Sundance Film Festival [More]

Starring: Luke Wilson, George Lopez, Cheryl Hines, Radha Mitchell

Starring: Luke Wilson, George Lopez, Cheryl Hines, Radha Mitchell, Adriana Barraza

Director: Mark Pellington

Director: Mark Pellington
Screenwriter: Albert Torres
Studio: Overture Films

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Reviews for Henry Poole Is Here

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1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating; Australian critics are listed first)
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There is something contrived about this story in which people with major problems find a resolution.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
04/18/09
Louise Keller
Louise Keller
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
10/18/08
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Even if you're not religious (like me), HENRY POOLE is an inspiring, charming little movie that is about believing. A little syrupy at times, but ultimately moving.

Full Review Source: Sin Magazine | comment 1 Comment
08/13/08
Austin Kennedy
Austin Kennedy
Sin Magazine

At times you feel as if you should raise your arms and shout "Hallelujah" or "Amen!"

Full Review Source: Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN) | comment Comment
08/21/08
Bob Bloom
Bob Bloom
Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

Thanks to Wilson's sympathetic performance and Pellington's restraint, Henry Poole is Here may just succeed in warming hearts and lifting spirits.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
08/22/08
Bruce Demara
Bruce Demara
Toronto Star

A quiet, graceful drama that sneaks up on you.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
08/15/08
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

One of the best films of the year. You'll laugh, You'll Cry... You'll truly appreciate life!

Full Review Source: Moviehole | comment Comment
11/30/08
Clint Morris
Clint Morris
Moviehole

Henry Poole is Here is a gentle, personal film that gets great work from its cast and its unashamedly sweet messages about loneliness, hope, love and faith seem awfully brave these days.

Full Review Source: TheDivaReview.com | comment Comment
08/14/08
Diva Velez
Diva Velez
TheDivaReview.com

That the film is ultimately not about whether the guy gets the girl, but about whether the guy will be able to make peace with his past and go on to live the life he deserves, is pretty remarkable in itself.

Full Review Source: DustinPutman.com | comment Comment
08/15/08
Dustin Putman
Dustin Putman
DustinPutman.com

The movie is certainly flawed, but if you're able to suspend disbelief for the spiritual premise and can appreciate quiet little character-driven films where not much happens, you can do worse than this innocent and often lovely film.

Full Review Source: ComingSoon.net | comment Comment
08/13/08
Edward Douglas
Edward Douglas
ComingSoon.net

After several genre films, Pellington goes back to his indie roots with a personal, semi-effective spiritual fable about the vagaries of life and death and the healing, redemptive powers of love.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
07/23/08
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

A deeply spiritual movie about miracles, hope, love, and living in the present -- one of the best films of the year.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
08/14/08
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

A film that Christians will embrace, if only from sheer gratitude; here, at last, is a depiction of Christian faith as something other than the domain of cranks and loonies.

Full Review Source: Christianity Today | comment Comment
08/15/08
Frederica Mathewes-Green
Frederica Mathewes-Green
Christianity Today

An easy film to surrender to.

Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
08/15/08
Graham Killeen
Graham Killeen
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

One of the few really appealing features that have come along during this summer's movie dog days. Here's a film that actually tries to tell a story and tries to say something substantive instead of just blowing things up or going for the cheapest joke.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
08/15/08
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

Sincere, relentlessly somber parable about a severely depressed man whose self-imposed suburban exile is upended by a familiarly-shaped stain on his wall.

Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | comment Comment
08/14/08
Joe Lozito
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound

Sometimes funny and sometimes tender-verging-on-rubbery.

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
08/21/08
Jonathan Kiefer
Jonathan Kiefer
Sacramento News & Review

Even with its failures, Henry Poole Is Here takes on material that very few filmmakers even attempt. For that reason alone, the picture deserves respect.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
08/08/08
Lewis Beale
Lewis Beale
Film Journal International

If you're a sucker for a New Age-meets-old-time-religion tale and you have nothing else to do this weekend, then this one's for you. Everyone else should stay home.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
10/18/08
Linda Stasi
Linda Stasi
New York Post

Drives home the themes in a natural and honest way that never comes off as preachy.

Full Review Source: TheMovieReport.com | comment Comment
02/10/09
Michael Dequina
Michael Dequina
TheMovieReport.com
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating; Australian critics are listed first)
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