Henry Poole Is Here

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Henry Poole Is Here

PG

2008

1h 41m

Comedy

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

39%

Tomatometer

99 Reviews

52%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

With little time left due to a terminal disease, Henry Poole (Luke Wilson) buys a cookie-cutter house in a Los Angeles suburb and waits peacefully to die. However, he starts hearing a voice from next door that seems to be mimicking him perfectly. Upon investigating, Henry discovers that it's his neighbor's mute daughter with a tape recorder. Meanwhile, his other neighbor, Esperanza (Adriana Barraza), believes a stain on Henry's patio is the face of Jesus and begins showing it off to people.

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Critics 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.

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J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

Tell him to go away.

Dec 16, 2008

Full Review

Steven D. Greydanus

Decent Films

It never even gestures at the philosophical heavy lifting of exploring alternate interpretations of ambiguous events.

Rated: C+

Oct 29, 2008

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Nathan Rabin

AV Club

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.

Rated: C

Oct 18, 2008

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Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

The film is almost single-minded in its celebration of faith and hope and God.

Rated: 3.0/4.0

Sep 10, 2020

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Megan Basham

WORLD

It is a quiet, introspective story that, clumsily at some times and heartbreakingly at others, explores a broken man's search for meaning and the gift of faith.

Oct 11, 2018

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Annie Wagner

The Stranger (Seattle, WA)

Henry Poole Is Here is so stupid it makes you itch. I half expected to exit the theater with gushing stigmata.

Aug 21, 2017

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Kelli S

One of my all time favorite movies. Is it sappy? Yes. But is it good? Very. If you go with the flow of this movie, it is a wonderful story that will leave you feeling happy. The end.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/19/25

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Bryan M

This movie is a real treat. It’s a well told story in the finest tradition of film. On a rare occasion, Hollywood tells a good, moving story with quality writing, acting, and directing. I’m far from a film critic, but this is what story telling looks like without a huge budget and CGI. Well done!!!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/11/25

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Deidre N

this movie is better than most of the tomato's ratings that score in the 90s

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

12/07/24

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Audience Member

Horrible..but great if you are Christian and believe in all kind of faces on the wall can heal..

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/15/23

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Audience Member

Incredibly well written, directed and acted ... thought provoking, deeply real with wit and charm, this movie highlights that a great story well acted doesn't need more than just that ... don't miss it and Luke Wilson is riveting in a quiet and wounded way

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

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wade w

It is a decisively strong Christian film that doesn't come across as too preachy. Poole is one of those rare faith-based movies that accomplished most of what it sets out to do. The quality filmmaking and excellent acting is all here thanks to a stellar lead performance by Luke Wilson. I was surprised at how heartwarming it really was. It's not going to win any awards or break any new ground, but it sits near the top of the faith-based genre of film. (3/5)

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Mark Pellington

Director

Luke Wilson

Henry Poole

Radha Mitchell

Dawn

Adriana Barraza

Esperanza

George Lopez

Father Salazar

Cheryl Hines

Meg

Dean Spanley

87%

81%

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Synopsis

With little time left due to a terminal disease, Henry Poole (Luke Wilson) buys a cookie-cutter house in a Los Angeles suburb and waits peacefully to die. However, he starts hearing a voice from next door that seems to be mimicking him perfectly. Upon investigating, Henry discovers that it's his neighbor's mute daughter with a tape recorder. Meanwhile, his other neighbor, Esperanza (Adriana Barraza), believes a stain on Henry's patio is the face of Jesus and begins showing it off to people.

Director: Mark Pellington
Producer: Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi, Richard S. Wright, Gary Gilbert, Tom Lassally
Screenwriter: Albert Torres
Distributor: Overture Films
Production Co: Camelot Pictures, Lakeshore Entertainment
Rating: PG (Thematic Elements|Some Language)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 15, 2008, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 4, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.8M
Runtime: 1h 41m

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