A depressed man (Luke Wilson) moves into a house and wants to be left alone, but finds this impossible when a stain appears on the side of his house in the shape of Jesus Christ.

CRITIQUE

Henry Poole Is Here is an offbeat film that is intriguing and quirky in its first half, before running out of ideas and sliding into a predictable, underwhelming conclusion.  The result has things to like, particularly for more spiritually-minded viewers, but one is ultimately left feeling that it could have worked a lot better.

The main character here is Henry Poole, played by Luke Wilson, and at the start of the film he is a depressed man who buys a house, though he declares that he isn’t going to be there for long, setting up a mystery of what his story might be.  Henry wants to be left alone, but the film wastes little time getting to the big twist, when a water stain on his house starts attracting attention because it looks like Jesus Christ.

This leads to Henry winding up reluctantly making friends with a lot of people, including the pretty single mother next door (Radha Mitchell) and her young daughter, who hasn’t talked in a while.  Ultimately the theme here is about faith, but some more plot twists, particularly in the second half, would have helped a lot.

The cast is game; Wilson is a likable lead despite his low energy here, while actors like Adriana Barraza and George Lopez (in a serious role as a priest) fill their roles well.  Director Mark Pellington brings a lyrical feel to many scenes, and a lot of this works, though by the end it just isn’t as memorable as it should have been.  The result is okay, but not great.

THE VIDEO

Henry Poole Is Here is presented in either 2.40:1 widescreen or fullscreen, on the same DVD.  The picture quality is generally good.

THE AUDIO

Henry Poole Is Here is presented in English 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround.  Dialogue, music and sound effects come through clear.  There are English and Spanish subtitles.

THE EXTRAS

There is an Audio Commentary with director Mark Pellington and writer Albert Torres that is solid throughout; they talk about the writing of the film and how it changed while they were making it.

The Making of Henry Poole Is Here is a 16-minute featurette in which the director and actors talk about the characters and the story.

There are two Music Videos, one which doesn’t even identify the performer, the other the winner of a MySpace theme song contest.

There is a Trailer for the film.

FINAL THOUGHT

Henry Poole Is Here is offbeat and somewhat interesting, though not for everyone.