HENRY POOLE IS HERE
Miraculous deliverance from despair.
Should You Watch It?
HENRY POOLE IS HERE is a moving story about a hopeless man whose faith is challenged by apparent miracles and by relationships with caring people. It treats God, Christian faith, and miracles respectfully, even though it is not overtly evangelistic and does not fully present the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The film's four-star strengths are its absorbing writing, deft direction, strong cast, and uplifting themes of faith, hope, caring, and healing. Its main cost for families is language, including several strong profanities from the troubled protagonist. Younger children and pre-teenagers may also be unsettled by the anger, drinking, and emotional pain.
If you are choosing for teenagers or adults, this is worth seeing; use discernment for younger children.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESHenry Poole learns from his doctor that he may have only three months to live. He returns to the California suburb where he grew up, hoping to spend his final days quietly.
But a neighbor named Esperanza sees an image of Jesus in a stain on the stucco of Henry's house. When a red mark appears on the image, Henry's skepticism is tested. His life becomes even more complicated as he befriends Dawn, an abandoned woman, and her traumatized young daughter, Millie.
Is It Any Good?
Four stars means this is one of the reviewer's strongest recommendations. Despite its low budget, writer Albert Torres and director Mark Pellington deftly weave together faith, miracles, despair, and human connection.
The cast does a great job telling the story, and the film is poignant, absorbing, inspiring, and well written. Its ending falls a little short, and the movie could have made stronger, more overt Christian points. Even so, it is uplifting and could be one of the best movies of the year.
The Worldview
HENRY POOLE IS HERE presents questions about faith and miracles while ultimately seeming to side with God, Christianity, and the possibility of real miracles. Esperanza's Christian faith is strong, insistent, and caring. She can be pushy, which creates some humor at her expense, but she remains patient with Henry even when his skepticism becomes angry and destructive.
The film exalts faith, hope, caring, and the possibility that miracles can transform a despondent person. It also shows the value of relationships with people who respond to pain with patience. Henry's suffering, skepticism, and tenderness toward Millie make him relatable, while his relationships with Dawn and her daughter become positive anchors.
The film's Christian theology remains incomplete. It is not overtly evangelistic, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not fully presented. Still, its respectful treatment of Christian faith and miracles gives the story a positive spiritual direction.
The film's central question is whether faith can survive when a person cannot see the answer clearly. Jesus says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Content Summary
Strong Christian worldview with strong moral, biblical elements but protagonist fights Christian faith in God, Jesus and miracles until almost the very end, though the ending could be more clearly evangelistic; six obscenities, four strong profanities and 11 light profanities, some of which are exclamatory; angry man shouts at people in several scenes, throws something in one scene and deliberately breaks a larger inanimate object in another scene, plus man injured and wakes up in hospital; no sex scenes but couple kisses and shares a candlelit dinner with pizza; upper male nudity; dying man drinks a lot to the point of excess, though movie does not show really overt drunkenness; no smoking; and, dying man in pain berates Christians but Christians treat him well so he comes off looking like the bad buy and some rudeness.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
Henry responds to suffering with anger and skepticism. How can we bring honest grief to God without closing ourselves off from hope?
Psalm 13 · Romans 5:3–5Esperanza treats Henry with patience even when he rejects her faith. What does patient love look like when someone disagrees with you?
1 Corinthians 13:4–7 · Colossians 4:5–6The story connects healing with caring relationships. How can your family show Christ's care to someone who feels hopeless?
Galatians 6:2 · 2 Corinthians 1:3–4The film raises questions about miracles and belief. What does Scripture teach about faith, doubt, and trusting God?
Mark 9:24 · John 20:29The Final Word
HENRY POOLE IS HERE is a poignant, inspiring film about faith, hope, caring, and miracles. Its strong language calls for discernment with younger viewers, but teenagers and adults may find an absorbing story with a positive view of God and Christian faith. WORTH THE TRIP — AGES 13 AND UP.
