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DIGITAL

Opening Date

03 Apr 2025

Rating

PG13 Some Coarse Language and Scene of Intimacy

Runtime

104 mins

Language

English - subtitles to be advised

Genre

Drama

Director

Robert Zemeckis

Cast

Tom Hanks, Robin Wright

Synopsis

Here is an original film about multiple families and a special place they inhabit. The story travels through generations, capturing the most relatable of human experiences.

Reviews

By InCinemas 31 Mar 2025

An intriguing concept with questionable execution.

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Back in 1989, graphic novelist Richard Maguire published the 6-page comic story, Here, that was then expanded into a 304-page graphic novel in 2014. The concept of is to present the same location at different points in time, ranging from the primeval past to years in the future. A decade after the release of the expansion, writer-director Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future trilogy, Forrest Gump) took to adapting the experimental comic to film.

Zemeckis reunites with his Forrest Gump stars Tom Hanks and Robin Wright, with Paul Bettany, Kelly Reilly, Michelle Dockery, Gwilym Lee, Lauren McQueen, David Fynn, Ophelia Lovibond and more starring in supporting roles. This Forrest Gump reunion also includes writer Eric Roth, cinematographer Don Burgess and composer Alan Silvestri.

The narrative of Here is presented nonlinearly, featuring storylines that represent different periods: the Stone Age featuring an indigenous couple; the 1700s featuring Benjamin Franklin’s son William, the 1900s featuring John and Pauline Harter (Lee and Dockery) and the Spanish flu; the 1940s featuring the invention of the La-Z-Boy by inventor Lee (Fynn) and his wife Stella (Lovibond) pre-World War II and later the Young family after the conclusion of the war; and mid-to-late 2010s to present day.

The Young family serve as the core inhabitants of the space for the course of the film where Al and Rose Young (Bettany and Reilly) raise their children Richard, Elizabeth, and Jimmy. After an 18-year-old Richard gets his girlfriend Margaret pregnant, they get married and raise their daughter in the same house. Hanks and Wright play Richard and Margaret throughout the years with the help of Generative artificial intelligence (AI) de-aging.

The use of AI and de-aging in film has been a tricky subject unless used adequately. Unfortunately for Here’s case, it doesn’t serve the film because no amount of AI will seem sufficent to make Hanks and Wright believable teenagers. The effect is ghastly and distracting, making the film a difficult watch for the most part they are present in their younger ages.

What’s most intriguing about Here is the concept of change over time in a fixed space. Despite its singularity, it never feels confined because the scenery is always changing. This, however, both makes and breaks the film. While it's refreshing to see change and progress over various eras, the irregular way in which they are presented disallows its audience to build a connection in a way they should. Some eras are standouts (1940s, specifically the La-Z-Boy storyline) while others lacked depth (the 1700s).

Thankfully, Here closes on a better note with Hanks and Wright playing older versions of their characters which better suits their form. A most cathartic moment happens at the very end when the focus breaks free and the camera pans around and away as if finally taking a breath, freeing itself (and viewers) from hold. Zemeckis and his creative team deserves credit for attempting to bring to life a concept that otherwise only works best static. We can only imagine the gruelling process the crew must’ve endured to tackle such a feat.
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