Henry Poole Is Here

This was an unexpected movie. I picked it up because it stars Luke Wilson. This usually means a light-hearted comedy with some romance - perfect for a lazy Sunday evening. Well, romance was involved, but not as the main plot. Instead, Luke plays a man who is forced to deal with hope, faith, and miracles when he would much rather be left alone to die.

Henry Poole moves to a small community close to where he lived as a boy. His childhood memories are not great - parents fought a lot and made homelife miserable. But he moves back to this neighborhood after being diagnosed with a fatal disease. He buys a home in need of repair but foregoes any negotiations on the price. The stucco work is completed even though he has requested nothing be done. A bad water stain appears to contain the face of Christ. Poole's neighbors experience their own miracles when they come to visit the stain, much to Poole's chagrin. And though he is witness to the miracles, he will not acknowledge them as such, nor test the power of the stain to cure his own disease.

In the end, Poole destroys the stain, the wall, and part of his house. But out of disaster comes more miracles. Definitely worth watching regardless of your own faith in miracles.