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Film Review
Saving power of Christ murky in lukewarm 'Poole'
Apparitions of the face of Christ, the question of miracles and a challenge of faith are hardly the elements most people expected to see in the latest Luke Wilson movie.
The generally comedic actor takes on new depth in “Henry Poole is Here” (Overture). While the story is cute and has a good message, it is not well written. But Wilson and the film are engaging and thoughtful nonetheless.
Wilson plays Henry Poole, who buys a house in his childhood neighborhood to hide from the world. His nosy neighbor Esperanza — perfectly played by Adriana Barraza — foils his plan. The kind Hispanic woman functions like the neighborhood newspaper — conveying information to Henry and about Henry to the surrounding neighbors.
While getting to know her new neighbor, Esperanza — which means “hope” in Spanish — sees what she believes is the face of Christ in a water stain in the stucco on the side of Henry’s home.
Henry couldn’t care less. He doesn’t want to be bothered by anyone — particularly Esperanza, her priest, her friends she brings over or her church, which she brings in to test the legitimacy of the proposed miraculous appearance of the face of God.
Wilson’s character deals with this attention with a mix of interest, frustration and a general attempt to ignore the reality of the situation in his backyard. He is slow to believe that the face of Christ is on the side of his house, but as miracles begin to happen as a result of the appearance, his resolve becomes more difficult to maintain.
Wilson does a great job with Poole, a character who is losing hope in life, but is simply too kind to actually do so. A script that never really communicates the potential of the story effectively stilts his performance. Beyond Barraza, as Esperanza, the rest of the supporting cast is not notable.
“Henry Poole is Here” focuses on the importance of hope. The main character is trying to escape from the world because he believes his life situation is hopeless. His neighbor Esperanza tries to help change his outlook, particularly after her discovery of what she believes is a miracle.
While hope is an important virtue and a great message for any film, it misses the mark in “Henry Poole is Here.” The film dances around the real story — faith in Christ and hope in His promise.
The point is not that the film should be about faith — at its roots “Henry Poole is Here” is about faith in the power of Christ and the potential for miraculous works that comes from that belief. The point is that the filmmakers chose to focus on the generic concept of hope instead.
This undermining of the true message of the film cheapens the underlying themes of “Henry Poole is Here.” A movie that could have been very powerful becomes lukewarm.
Despite whitewashing the deeper message with a shallow concept of “hope conquering all odds,” the film is about faith inspired by relationships with other people.
Although the Catechism of the Catholic Church makes it clear that faith is a personal act, it emphasizes, “No one can believe alone, just as no one can live alone” (166).
Poole had lost faith in himself and life in general and discovers faith — not because the face of Christ appears on the side of his house — but because his friends and neighbors believe in the apparition. It is not the miracle that restores his faith, but the faith of others in something beyond themselves.
“Henry Poole is Here” is a good movie that could have been excellent, but was not brave enough to verbalize its true message of faith in Christ.
As a result it is merely a sweet film about a man’s transformation of a man. But it’s not powerful.
Catholic devotions are playfully and inoffensively explored and generally presented in a positive light.
Sweet, gently funny and mildly inspiring “Henry Poole is Here” might not be a classic that is here to stay, but certainly deserves at least a short visit.
Rebecca Bostic is a regular contributor to The Catholic Sun. Comments are welcome. Send e-mail to letters@catholicsun.org.
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