Here Review – What Are We Doing Here?

Is it worth chasing the past if the nature of life is to move on anyway? Here is the story of a place throughout time, showing us glimpses of the people who occupy that space as well as how it changes over time. Directed by Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future), the film stars Forrest Gump collaborators Tom Hanks and Robin Wright, as well as Paul Bettany (WandaVision) and Kelly Reilly (Pride & Prejudice). Here was written by Zemeckis and Eric Roth – another Forrest Gump alum – and the movie is based on the graphic novel of the same name by Richard McGuire.

As mentioned above, the film is made up of people who worked on Forrest Gump, and Here does feel like Zemeckis attempting to make a sort of thematic spiritual sequel to that film. While much of the movie is disjointed, the main story follows Richard and Margaret Young – played by Hanks and Wright – at different points in their lives. They live in Richard’s childhood home with his parents Al and Rose, played by Bettany and Reilly respectively. There are a few other stories too, with the film showing what that spot looks like over different time periods, like during the COVID-19 pandemic, or prehistoric times. 

The Many Stories of Here

The Youngs’ story isn’t that interesting. Al and Rose move into a new home and have three children, including Richard. When Richard grows up, he meets Margaret, who soon falls pregnant with their daughter Vanessa (Zsa Zsa Zemeckis). The couple constantly argue about whether they should keep living with Richard’s aging parents. The film’s story isn’t substantive because it doesn’t linger on anything interesting. It’s constantly weaving in and out of different narratives, most of which don’t have thematic similarities other than inhabitants of the location all being different types of families. 

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Yet, the intercutting of time periods is done quite well, and it doesn’t take you out of the movie. The camera never moves, with the location changing chunk by chunk, usually with an artificial window layering one period over another. This is interesting and it mirrors the comic. Unfortunately, the effect it creates isn’t enough to counterbalance the story issues. The non-linearity might have worked better with a cohesive story, or if the story was strong, the non-linearity might not have been an issue. Even though it ultimately does wonders for the film’s pacing, the structure does not work with the story Here tells. 

That isn’t to say that the film is devoid of good writing. The characters are well-written and complex. By the end, you do care about what some of these characters have gone through, and it’s easy to empathize with them. But, they treat one character’s ultimate fate as a reveal, which is quite odd. Especially considering the trailer spells it out as if the constant foreshadowing wasn’t a big enough crutch. 

The Digital Age

Both Robin Wright and Tom Hanks are de-aged in Here, as they play their characters from their teen years until their senior years. The digital effects are bafflingly distracting. Tom Hanks is one of the most well-known actors on the planet, and we know what he looked like in his 20s. While there are scenes where he looks similar to his younger self, it never feels like we are watching a 20-year-old man. He has the movements of an older man. It detracts from any nuggets of the story because you spend the entire time thinking that what you’re seeing doesn’t look quite right.

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Admittedly, the effect is less noticeable with Robin Wright, but it is still very much there. Hanks and Wright’s performances aren’t horrible, but the effects do distract from them. Here has more of a theatrical feel in that the performances are quite large. Paul Bettany is overacting, but in a way that befits the tone of the movie. Back to the film’s digital effects, many scenes have an artificial look to them, which is unfortunate, too. Some scenes look like cutscenes, and in a movie that seems to be going for a theatrical tone, it’s a true mismatch. 

Longtime Robert Zemeckis collaborator Alan Silvestri (Back to the Future) provided a great score for the film, very much in line with some of his better work. It underscores some of the more emotional moments of the film well. The soundtrack is also quite good, representing their respective time periods with songs like “Cherry Bomb” or “Fooled Around and Fell in Love.” 

Getting Out of Here

Ultimately, Here isn’t a bad film. It’s not offensive, but it is disappointing in more ways than one. The effects are distracting, the performances are hit or miss, the music is great, it’s well-edited and the story is a boring slog. It’s a movie I didn’t love to watch, and I wish Zemeckis would try his hand at something less painfully repetitive, but I can’t say I had a bad time watching it. I just probably won’t be thinking about it after a few weeks. So, maybe wait for Here to come to digital to watch it, the effects might be less distracting on a smaller screen. 

You can watch Here in theaters now.