The Wasteland Reviewer

Here (2024) Written Review

What does movie magician Robert Zemeckis have up his sleeve next? This man was once described as being a new version of Steven Spielberg with such efforts as Back to the Future and Forrest Gump. But since the release of Cast Away, Zemeckis has been focusing on bold creative choices. For years in the early to mid-2000s, Zemeckis was exclusively working on motion capture animation. A Christmas Carol, Beowulf, and The Polar Express all embody this movement towards bold creativity over the impeccable storytelling of films like Back to the Future. There are few films of the 21st century that many people live from the filmography of Zemeckis. But that has yet to stop him from experimenting in the cinematic sense. 

Where does Zemeckis expand his horizons with the release of Here? The big conceit of the film is that every shot (for the most part) is a stationary shot from one specific angle. The camera (almost) never moves and the whole film from the death of the dinosaurs until today is portrayed from that specific shot. The film looks a tad bit artificial too often to feel like you are fully engrossed in the story but there is certainly a level of creativity in how the story is presented through this specific gaze. The transitions between shots are quite impressive with rectangular frames appearing showing a different time and the film transitions through. This gives the film an interesting flow that feels unique. There is an effect on the consistency of the story (but that will be discussed later). 

The film is certainly ambitious…but is it too ambitious? Narratively, yes. There are too many different time threads that Zemeckis is trying to tackle and most of them lack depth or real context. There are some fun scenes or significant themes introduced but they lack substance to make a bigger impact upon the story. You can understand the larger context and why you might want to challenge yourself with such a screenplay but the story benefits little from the excessive amount of story threads. Even the central storyline feels more like a string of moments than a cohesive story. There are some impactful moments, and certain dynamics click well (the relationship between Tom Hanks’ Richard and Robin Wright’s Margaret for sure). The film feels like a couple’s life constructed in a mosaic of snapshots. This does create a sense of jarring fractures throughout but enough of their story is pieced together to construct a familiar but effective arc. The main story has a lot of dramatic potential (and delivers on quite a bit of it) but the storytelling approach chops it up a bit too much. 

How about the sentimental tone that Zemeckis is known for? There is plenty of drama to be had in Here, but things get a bit too melodramatic. Alan Silvestri has created many great scores, and this one is an effective one. But the score does seem to be trying a little too hard to make you tear up. The final sequence of the film is meant to deliver a big emotional closure to the story, but the scene feels a bit too overdone. What really undermines the film at times is just how over-the-top the performances can be. This must have come from the direction because this is a leading cast of talented actors. There are some emotional significant scenes in the film that fall flat because the performances might have you laughing instead. Hank and Wright are great actors, but they even have awkward moments. Paul Bettany (who portrays Hanks’ father) has an absurd accent that just makes things worse when his performance feels like it is in a soap opera. 

Does Here deliver an engaging and emotionally impactful experience? This film will work well enough for some, and they will get plenty of mileage out of the melodrama. But the story is too choppy and distracted to deliver on the level that Zemeckis is hoping for. This is indeed an ambitious film with its camera conceit, the transitions, and de-aging that goes on. That might be enough for some curious viewers. But the hope for a fully realized cinematic experience that works in both filmmaking and storytelling is not promising.