Directed by Robert Zemeckis
Starring Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Kelly Reilly, Paul Bettany, Michelle Dockery, Gwilym Lee, David Fynn, and Ophelia Lovibond

Don’t be swayed as I was by the intentional appeal of the reunion between Director Robert Zemeckis and actors Tom Hanks and Robin Wright, all of Forrest Gump fame of course. Here is much more Forrest Slump than the masterpiece from 1994.

Based on a 6-page comic strip published in Raw, Here superglues its immobile camera to one corner of a living room in a home first built in 1900 for its entire duration, observing the different families to occupy the home over the various timelines. Generational changes occur within the four walls as we bear witness to just about everything that can transpire in one living room over more than 100 years.

We’re now approaching that time of year where some of our Oscar ® contenders for 2025 are stating their cases on the silver screen. It is therefore fitting of me to state the award for most immediately off-putting film seen all year goes to… Here! Insert round of applause.

Barely more than 1 minute at a time during its jarring opening act is devoted to the same timeline and characters in it. It’s a viewing experience akin to watching a teenager’s addictive and restless scroll through social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok playing out on screen. Heck, there are even dinosaurs! Clearly, these apps did not exist for most of the timeline Here is set. Its constant switching and the surface-level visual observation is what brought this to my mind and made the film incredibly unengaging. I found it downright impossible to form a single connection to any character. What also contributes towards its aforementioned award win is its format for changing timelines, which I absolutely detested. Quite simply, a square shaped panel appears on screen (shown via the comic snippet below). Whenever you see this, and you will see it over 100 times should you watch Here, you know the timeline is about to revolve.

Furthermore, the whole production is executed and acted as though it were an amateur and sub-standard stage production. I rapidly grew so bored by this feature, my attention instead turned towards the hideous wallpaper and curtains throughout the early and mid 1900s era that should never make a comeback.

Thankfully, if you’ve got through the first 30 minutes or so of Here, then you have already seen the worst of it. I am pleased to say that it does eventually settle and find a groove of sorts that will make it watchable at the least and likeable at best. Central characters are established, we stay with them for longer, and with that, have the chance to develop some feelings for them. Though a noticeable improvement, Here does not possess enough redeeming qualities to wholly satisfy or recommend. There are just way too many bad decisions made that never stood a chance to make a great film. Another one of those decisions is to de-age Tom Hanks using artificial intelligence. I love Tom Hanks, yet I get nothing but disconcerting feels seeing that spunky actor from 1984s Splash in a 2024 drama. No Hanks! 

Here is showing in cinemas across Australia from October 31st (Halloween! How fitting).

Moviedoc thanks VVS Films and Nixco for the invitation to the screening of this film.

Review by Leigh for Moviedoc

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