Based on the comic book “Here”; by Richard McGuire
Narrative
A generational story about families and the special place they live in, sharing love, loss, laughter and life.. It was first published as a strip in the comic book magazine “Raw”; in 1989 and was expanded into a 300-page graphic novel in 2014. Richard’s father, at one point early in the film, names a few towns that he states are along the Pennsylvania Turnpike, when in fact they are all towns that are along Interstate 80 in PA, which had not even been built at the time..
Clarinet Concerto, pt
[from trailer] Richard: You know, if you want, you could spend the rest of the night here.Margaret: I could spend the rest of my life here.. Features They Stooge to Conga (1943). 1 and 2Written by Artie ShawPerformed by Artie Shaw and his orchestraCourtesy of RCA RecordsBy arrangement with Sony Music Entertainment.
We then follow ~5 families at different times and their lives in the living room
‘Here’ is the fifth film directed by Robert Zemeckis starring Tom Hanks, and while it’s not a 2.5-hour epic spanning 3 decades like ‘Forrest Gump’, it somehow manages to span 65 million years. This is achieved through the trick of the film’s camera staying in one place, focusing on the living room of a house built in the early 19th century (probably in New Jersey, USA), which includes a few flashbacks to what was there on that piece of land before the house was built, including a Native American tribe. It’s not all linear, but it’s not too confusing, with the main story following Al (Bettany) and Rose (Reilly) buying the house after World War II.
There are some beautiful moments, some funny bits, and a few sad scenes
There they raise their 4 children, with Richard (Hanks) played by an older/’Big’-era Hanks from ~16 years old. Then he meets an older Margaret (Wright), and we follow them as they age in the house over the decades. Even though it’s a relatively short film, it probably didn’t need at least 2 of these stories!
The editing is sometimes good, but often unnecessarily annoying
It tries to depict the little moments of life that add up to create the human experience. It’s getting close, but because of all the jumping around, you don’t get too attached to anyone, so the suspense is lost. From Alien: Romulus to Road House, take a look back at some of our favorite posters from 2024.
