Here

 

“I’m here. 

I’m glad you’re here.”

Stagey, stilted but sentimental, Here is a nonlinear sprawling saga that spans centuries of events anchored in one location that struggles to balance its technical achievements with its narrative flow, delivering a solid proof-of-concept that never fully reaches its broadest potential. 

Discussion Points:

Robert Zemeckis is one of my favourite directors - I watched every one of his films during the first lockdown - and I’m willing to admit that his last decade has definitely been more miss than hit. Zemeckis has always been excited by new technology and wanted to leverage it for his films - the VFX in Back to the Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Death Becomes Her, Forrest Gump, The Walk etc. were revolutionary in their respective times. But often these days the technology drives his films rather than aids them. They used to support the story, but now the narrative takes a backseat. And i think that’s still the case here for Here. The aging effects using AI never fully look real and feel too glossy and shiny. The single framing feels restrictive rather than transportive. The story wants to feel epic and grand in scope, but it ends up feeling flat and restricted. Seeing Tom Hanks and Robin Wright reunite is certainly special, but every time we get a glimpse into their lives, the non-linear structure intercuts to a new vignette. I’ll admit it definitely has its impressive technical moments and contains Zemeckis’ trademark sentimentality, but it gets frequently bogged down in stilted dialogue and forced over acting better suited to a play, which makes sense seeing as it all feels very staged and static. Alan Silvestri’s score is soothing (and reminiscent of Mark Knopfler’s The Princess Bride compositions), and the production design is frequently impressive, but ultimately Here feels disappointingly underbaked. But it’s probably Zemeckis’ best film in 10 years since The Walk (2015).