Henry Poole Is Here (2008)

Het verhaal draait om Henry Poole die een huis koopt in zijn oude buurt. In het huis dat hij in eerste instantie wil kopen, is hij vroeger opgegroeid. Dit huis is echter al verkocht en hij neemt genoegen met een achterstallig huis, een stuk verderop. Daar wordt hij verwelkomd door zijn buurvrouw Esperanza, die hem wijst op de vlek op de muur in zijn achtertuin. Zij ziet hierin het gezicht van Jezus. Hij gelooft er echter niet zo in. Totdat zijn buurmeisje die al een jaar niet gesproken heeft, ineens weer begint te praten nadat ze de muur heeft aangeraakt.

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Henry Poole just wants to disappear. Shattered by circumstances beyond his control, he offers full price on a cookie cutter house in a drab, middle-class, L.A. neighborhood through his perky realtor Meg. But, just as he settles in to his indulgent isolation with a case of vodka and all the junk food he can eat, his neighbor, a well-meaning busybody named Esperanza, drops by with a plate of homemade tamales and a whole lot of questions. Despite his desire for solitude, Henry can't help noticing Dawn, the beautiful young divorcée next door and her daughter Millie, an eight-year-old amateur spy who hasn't spoken a...
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word since her parents' break-up. Henry's self-imposed exile is shattered when Esperanza discovers a mysterious stain on Henry's stucco wall that is seen to have miraculous powers. She begins leading pilgrimages to the "holy site" and invites church officials, including her pastor, Father Salizar, to inspect the apparition. Although Henry remains skeptical, he finds himself gradually drawn back towards life, especially after his silent friendship with Millie brings him closer to Dawn. As news of the apparition spreads throughout the neighborhood and his feelings for Dawn grow, Henry realizes his plan to live out his days in quiet desperation is going to be much harder than he ever imagined.
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Director Mark Pellington (THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES) wrings a miracle from a stucco wall in HENRY POOLE IS HERE, a kind, minimalist tale of finding faith where you least expect it. Henry Poole (Luke Wilson) is a dying man with a mission to spend his final days alone. He relocates to a sparse home in a rundown suburb and makes fast friends with a stash of vodka bottles, but the solitude just won't stick; every neighbor on the block wants to befriend the newly arrived curmudgeon. Most persistent is Esperanza (Adrianna Barrazza, BABEL), an energetic woman who comes to Henry's house to salve her own tragic connection to...
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it, but stays when she sees a stain on the wall that appears to be the face of Jesus. Despite Henry's pleas (and angry missives) to the contrary, word of the miracle spreads, and the solitude-seeking Henry is soon under siege: Esperanza brings by her priest (played by George Lopez); recently divorced Dawn (Radha Mitchell) shows up with Millie, her silently emotive little girl (Morgan Lilly); and even a prying grocery store clerk makes a visit to the world's least likely shrine. With each passing pilgrim, the conversation about hope and the renewing properties of belief grows louder, until even Henry cannot resist being moved. He may not yet accept Jesus, but he just may begin to accept the message of love.

What Pellington leaves ambiguous about the "miracle" of the stain he makes up for with a resounding celebration of the miracle of human connection and the uplifting power of compassion. All the characters in HENRY POOLE IS HERE have pasts that could lead them to drink themselves into an early grave, but in the end, they each mine their misery for deep stores of faith in humanity.
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Given a grim diagnosis during a routine doctor's checkup, a man who once had it all finds his attempt to disappear into a working-class suburb and spend his remaining days subsisting on vodka and junk food hopelessly disrupted when he falls for the beautiful divorcée next door and a busybody neighbor notices a miraculous stain on his stucco wall. Henry Poole (Luke Wilson) had a comfortable life and a beautiful fiancée. But just when it seemed that the future couldn't look any brighter for Henry, a visit to the doctor's office casts a dark cloud over his sunny outlook. Shattered, Henry wants nothing more in life...
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than to simply vanish into his surroundings, and what better way to accomplish that feat than to purchase a cookie-cutter house in a working-class suburb and spend his final days awaiting the inevitable in peaceful solitude. Unfortunately for Henry, his new neighbors aren't about to let the handsome neighborhood newcomer spend his days sulking. The first to stop by and welcome Henry to his new home is local yenta Esperanza (Adriana Barraza), who comes knocking on his door with a fresh plate of homemade tamales and laundry list of questions. Later, after taking notice of sad-eyed divorcée Dawn (Radha Mitchell) and her taciturn eight-year-old daughter, Millie (Morgan Lily), who hasn't spoken a work since her father left, Henry finds his self-imposed exile shattered when Esperanza notices a stain on his stucco wall that seems to possess miraculous powers. Before Henry can say "Hail Mary," Esperanza is leading pilgrimages to the "holy site" in his backyard and inviting Father Salizar (George Lopez) to give his blessings to the sacrosanct blemish. As skeptical as Henry may be about the healing powers of the curious apparition, however, his growing friendship with young Millie not only brings him closer to Dawn, but also proves to him that there's no escaping the power of hope. Cheryl Hines, Richard Benjamin, and Jessica Walter co-star in a wry existential comedy drama penned by first-time feature film screenwriter Albert Torres, and directed by Mark Pellington (Arlington Road, The Mothman Prophecies).
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