SATURDAY AT 5 AM PLEASE

by Samuel Rillstone

Robert Zemeckis reunites with Tom Hanks and Robin Wright Herea film that explores the human experience while also playing with the film form of storytelling.

Here It is based on the graphic novel by Richard McGuire and spans from prehistory to modern times. The film reveals a hyper-real, slightly simplified version of the human experience, showing the stories of two families going through different things in recent periods of time.

The movie has a game-like quality because everything happens in the same frame. The camera does not move, instead focusing on a single patch of land across time and generations, telling the stories of different residents and their life events as characters move in and out of the frame.

Jesse Goldsmith’s creative editing mimics the comic book/original comic book look; The main frame is sometimes split into smaller frames to show the passage of time with the same characters or to show the area in different time periods.

Here stars a de-aged Tom Hanks and Robin Wright.
Photograph: Miramaks

The main family story is an intergenerational trauma and the history of a place, based on the idea that a singular place, such as a house or a room, can see so much and almost hold memory. While the performances of lead actors Tom Hanks and Robin Wright are strong and likable, you have to surrender to their whims for it to work.

The duo takes you on a journey full of heartfelt and believable emotions, even though it may seem a little odd that the actors are getting younger in age (Zemeckis always likes to use the latest technology) but their voices remain the same. Tom Hanks playing an 18-year-old with a 68-year-old voice missed the mark for me. Fortunately, the weathered parts are not too wide or close.

These big moments or memories are meant to be interpreted as shared experiences, but sometimes it feels a little heavy-handed. The story stumbles in some parts, but it all comes together in the end.

The sonder concept that everyone lives a very different but also similar life is very powerful if you give yourself to it.

Here (PG-13) is in New Zealand cinemas now.