HENRY POOLE WAS HERE

Now, I could forgive a lot of people for saying they do not understand what exactly I see in this film. On the surface, it seems rather ordinary, not boring per se, but not that attractive either. I didn’t have very high hopes for it when I started watching but well, it was work and it had to be watched so there we were, as it were… I was pleasantly surprised by it in the end; I would by no means claim it was “life changing” but it is a genuinely good movie, perfect for a certain kind of mood…

Meet Henry Poole (Luke Wilson who you will probably remember from Legally Blonde). We don’t know very much about him actually and it doesn’t really matter anyway because he is going to die. The test results are back, yes it’s inoperable and no, there is no way back. What is the sickness? Does that matter? His life has basically come to an end… Everyone copes with this kind of shock differently; Henry decides to fold in on himself. He rents a house in the suburbs, cuts off all communication with everyone in his former existence and starts to live out his last couple of months, completely isolated from the world and “dead” to all intents and purposes… But life has a funny way of forcing itself on you when and where you least expect it. And in Henry’s case, it comes in the form of Jesus Christ. In a stain on his wall. “This is a miracle” claims Esperanza (Adriana Baraza who was nominated for an Oscar in her performance as a supporting actress in Babel) his rather nosey next door neighbor. The annoying thing is, try as Henry might, he cannot get rid of the stain. And the stain starts, or so claim the believers, to perform miracles. There is the added complication of Dawn (Radha Mitchell whom I especially admired in her leading part in Surrogates) the beautiful and sassy single mother next door, to whom Henry feels hopelessly attracted to despite telling himself their relationship has literally no future… Yes, this “preparing to die” malarkey is going to be A LOT tougher than Henry expected…

Now, don’t let the initial blurb of the film get you down. It is not a “sadness and death” film. Quite the contrary, it is a film that celebrates life. But it does this in a rather perverse way, the way it chooses to celebrate, a bit like life itself… I thought at first glance that Henry Poole’s reaction to death was a bit unbelievable, but it is actually a mindset I can comprehend. Hit by the sudden news that none of his hopes, dreams and plans for the future will ever happen, Henry makes a stab at taking control. He extracts himself from his life, with his own will and on his own terms, fortifies himself with vodka and pizza and waits for Death who will make the next move… It’s just that life itself is predictable, and in fact it goes on even when you try and stop it or become completely passive. It is interesting to compare it with “The Guitar” that I have also reviewed on this site (click here for review) There, the main character Melody takes a completely different stance, throwing all caution to the wind and running after her dreams and desires… She decides to pursue true happiness before she dies, Henry, unlike Melody, craves control above anything; he wants to be the one in charge even in death…

Happiness has a funny way of coming in strange disguises though… Watch it, I feel you will like it =)