Henry Poole Is Here (2008)

Reel.com 6 of 10
Faith is a funny thing. What other aspect of one's life demands so much and yet typically yields such fleeting pragmatic rewards? Conviction is usually couched in terms of a higher power but we also demand belief in ourselves and in our fellow man. In fact, what's clear about faith is that it penetrates far too many facets of our lives or at least that's what Mark Pellington wants us to see with his quirky character dramedy Henry Poole is Here. While our hero is having a hard time facing the realities of his fleeting existence, his neighbors are more than willing to throw aside common sense for a glimpse of God's hand...There are two different Mark Pellingtons on display in Henry Poole is Here. One is the MTV mastermind who brought Pearl Jam's "Jeremy" and Silverchair's "Tomorrow" to life. This Pellington plies his trade throughout this minor movie's frequently moody montages. Whenever our characters need to have a moment of contemplation, a track by The Eels comes pouring out of the speakers, accompanied by carefully photographed suburban vistas. This Pellington is purposefully oblique, leaving the viewer unable to make proper connections or figure out the meaning of things. The other Pellington is the man behind such films as Arlington Road and The Mothman Prophecies. This director deals in faces and facts, the camera closing in on his actors so they can deliver their big picture pronouncements while crying on cue...Truthfully, the best thing one can say about Henry Poole is Here is that it is a religious film where theology is barely recognizable. Some of the characters would call this a miracle. Audiences will find it slightly less extraordinary. - Bill Gibron
 
The Onion A.V. Club 6 of 10
Luke Wilson sleepwalks through the early stages of Mark Pellington's portentous drama Henry Poole Is Here with a haunted, dead-eyed look he imagines sends the message, "Leave me alone." Instead it cries out, "Save me." Playing a man with a tragic, endlessly telegraphed secret, Wilson purchases an ugly house in a non-descript neighborhood he hopes will serve as his Fortress Of Solitude, a safe place to hide from a world he views with suspicion and distrust. Alas, he has the misfortune of moving into the block that Hope built: all his neighbors seem infinitely more invested in Wilson's happiness than Wilson himself, and it isn't long until they've burst through his formidable defenses with their religious faith, indefatigable optimism, and indie-film quirkiosity...Cast yet again as a soulful sad sack, Wilson plays a would-be recluse whose privacy is severely compromised by a water stain on his house that neighbor Adriana Barraza believes represents the magical, healing head of Jesus...Henry Poole cycles through so many indie film cliches--the dour, depressed loner nursing a dark secret, a motley group of outsiders that form an unlikely but loving surrogate family, a welcoming circle of mourning, a touch of twee magic realism, a tremblingly earnest alt-rock soundtrack--that it continually skirts self-parody. Wilson travels an achingly familiar arc from drunken, sour loneliness and alienation to healthy engagement with the outside world, but this leaden, sluggishly paced film takes forever to get to its pre-determined destination and boasts a tone that runs the gamut from mournful to sad to melancholy. The Lord may work in mysterious ways, but the filmmakers behind sensitive, life-affirming indie dramas about brooding young men stumbling towards redemption are an awfully predictable lot. - Nathan Rabin