Henry Poole Is Here

Henry Poole Is Here is a 2008 American comedy-drama film directed by Mark Pellington. The screenplay by Albert Torres focuses on a dying man whose religious neighbor insists the water stain on the side wall of his house is an image of Jesus Christ. The film premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and was shown at the Berlin International Film Festival before going into limited release in the US on August 15. Plot Having been diagnosed as terminally ill, Henry Poole purchases a tract house in his hometown, a working class suburb of Los Angeles, and awaits the inevitable, fortified with whiskey and frozen pizza. His peaceful solitude and self-imposed exile are disrupted by his meddling neighbor Esperanza Martinez, who insists she sees the face of Christ embedded in the stucco wall of his home and is convinced the image has miraculous powers when it begins to exude drops of blood. Before long, she is leading pilgrimages to his backyard and inviting Father Salazar from the local parish to bless the supposedly sacrosanct blemish. To Henry the image is a water stain. In addition to dealing with Esperanza, Henry finds himself interacting with Dawn and her taciturn six-year-old daughter Millie, who hasn't spoken a word since her father abandoned the family a year earlier. Dawn becomes convinced of the image's healing powers when Millie begins to talk after touching it. Another disciple is supermarket cashier Patience, who wears thick glasses and discovers her vision is perfect after she too comes in contact with the stain.