5/5 Great movie
  by MWB VA (Fredericksburg, Virginia)
I just watched this movie and found it to be a very thoughtful, moving and humorous film. I'm a big fan of both Wilson brothers so Luke Wilson's appearance in this film hooked me. But what I found inside was a movie that wasn't afraid to deal with the "conflict" that faith can produce in real life. Not only externally between different people and their worldviews, but the internal struggle to explain the unexplainable. The story that unfolds was tremendous and thought provoking. I highly recommend it!

It is a very laid back film but I think it was anything but boring. And the soundtrack was incredible - a perfect compliment to the movie in every way!

5/5 Great family film
  by James Palacas (Nashville, TN)
Henry Poole is Here is a movie about a guy who struggles with things we all do - faith, doubt, the meaning of life, relationships, etc. It's a perfect family film and encourages you to have a little faith.

4/5 Is this Poole Deep Enough?
  by Eric Wilson (Nashville, TN United States)
My wife and I rented this movie on a whim and soon found ourselves entranced by the fine acting and wonderful themes. How, we wondered, did this fly under the box office radar? Why was the public subjected to "Transformers II" instead?

Luke Wilson gives one of his best performances here, playing the part of Henry Poole, a man who buys a house in his old southern Cal neighborhood, then closes up the windows and drinks himself into a stupor. Soon, his depressive ways are interrupted by a friendly, yet nosy, neighbor. Esperanza has past ties to the house, and in her desire to maintain some link, she believes she finds the face of Christ visible in stucco water stains. Poole gets impatient when Esperanza calls in the Catholic Church to verify her "find," and also calls in the local biddies to light candles and pay homage at the back wall of his home.

What starts as a straightforward story of skepticism versus belief turns into a deeper story about faith, hope, and love. There are humorous moments, including some sublime scenes between Poole and a grocery checker named Patience. The acting is great--particularly with Poole, Dawn, and Esperanza's parts--and there are some nice bits of dialogue. A scene in which Poole picks up an ax also broods with potential power. However, the slow pace and music sometimes gave us the sense we were being squeezed for emotion.

This film shows that Hollywood is not all glitz and ditziness (refer back to "Transformers II"), but can actually search for deeper meaning. For me, however, this Poole was not as deep as I hoped. The lack of details regarding Poole's terminal condition and the obvious tweaks for an emotional reaction left me still struggling to believe. Nevertheless, I think it's a movie well worth watching and contemplating.

5/5 A truly wonderful film!
  by J. Arena (Williamsburg, VA)
Sometimes, when we are without hope, hope will come and find us. Henry Poole is Here is a perfect little film about love, life, death, friendship, belief and miracles. It's so strange that I never heard about this movie until I stumbled upon it on cable. What a perfect film! Where was the advertising and hoopla that usually heralds the release of a movie in theatres, and again on DVD? Apparently, this was not directed at the teen audience, and it didn't provide enough death, violence and destruction to make it a blockbuster at the local cinema.

Buy this movie! Pass on the word! Henry Poole Is Here is a classic!

4/5 Henry Poole is Here
  by P. Leong (Hawaii)
Loved the movie, very different, but interesting & loved all the characters. Always been a fan of Luke Wilson.