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Cast & Credits

Henry Poole: Luke Wilson
Dawn: Radha Mitchell
Esperanza: Adrianna Barrazza
Meg: Cheryl Hines
Millie: Morgan Lily

Overture Films present a film directed by Mark Pellington and written by Albert Torres.
Running time: 99 minutes.

“Luke Wilson shows that he’s all set to turn over a new leaf in his career.”

Film newbie Mark Pellington (who has worked extensively in Television before) brings us a strong and poignant film about having faith in faith.

Henry Poole (Luke Wilson) is going through that very bad phase in his life. We learn from the very beginning of this story that there’s something terribly wrong with him. He’s a sad recluse who moves into a house in a neighbourhood that he used to live in as a child. The new house doesn’t come cheap, but he doesn’t care. And while the real estate agent wants to make the deal sweeter by offering to redo his lawns and paint the walls, he doesn’t want any of it. “I’m not going to be here that long,” He says. He doesn’t care how the walls look, whether they’re stained or not, whether his home needs furniture or not… he doesn’t even care to see who his neighbours are. All he does is lie on his couch and drink away to glory.

Enter the compassionate and welcoming neighbour, Esperanza (Adrianna Barrazza). We learn that she’s especially attached to Henry’s house because her deceased boyfriend used to live there. Esperanza is an open spiritualist and she wishes to make a connection with Henry to see if she can somehow find peace with her dead boyfriend through him, but Henry offers her nothing.

Meanwhile, Henry comes across Millie (Morgan Lily), an 8-year old neighbour who doesn’t speak much but uses a recorder to capture voices from across the wired fence. She lives with her mother, Dawn (Radha Mitchell) and they both are still recovering from a bad episode they had with Millie’s father. Henry makes contact with them but doesn’t entertain them. He’s cold and there’s a reason behind it.

Then, the backyard miracle happens. Esperanza walks into Henry’s yard one day and notices a stain on Henry’s wall. This stain, she claims, is actually the face of Jesus Christ himself. Henry doesn’t see the face, and neither do we. According to him, it’s just a leaking pipe causing a stain on the wall. So, he approaches Esperanza’s faith with caution.

We can see that Henry wants to believe, but there’s something stopping him from doing so. He needs proof. Don’t we all? But when proof presents itself to him, he finds himself needing more. And as the film progresses, we are forced to choose sides. On one hand, there are spiritualists that claim the wall can heal, on the other hand, we have the staunch realist Henry who is put off by this whole ordeal so much, that he even considers bringing the wall down.

This film isn’t about Christianity. It’s just about the strength of faith. And the sooner that sinks in, the more everything begins making sense.

The casting for this film was just appropriate. Radha Mitchell could’ve had a meatier role in this film, but sadly, she ends up just being the comforting and caring love interest. Luke Wilson comfortably embraces Henry and his pain. There’s a natural sorrow that seeps into the film through his eyes that say so much more than the story reveals to us. A miserable childhood, repressed memories and the inability to believe in anyone long enough to hold a conversation, all these come so naturally to him. Adrianna Barrazza and Morgan Lily aren’t exactly the best actors in the film, but they play their roles with utmost dedication.

There’s a very thin line between advocating faith and preaching the bible and director Mark Pellington handles this theme wonderfully. This film isn’t going to rake in the dollar bills and neither will it win many awards, but it’s very rewarding nevertheless.