
Here. 2024. USA. Directed by Robert Zemeckis. Screenplay by Zemeckis, Eric Roth, based on the graphic novel by Richard McGuire. With Tom Hanks, Robin Wright. DCP courtesy Sony Pictures. 104 min.
Robert Zemeckis’s ambitious adaptation of Richard McGuire’s graphic novel joins the pantheon of deeply resonant films about impermanence and age, alongside Leo McCarey’s Make Way for Tomorrow and Yasujirō Ozu’s Tokyo Story. Spanning centuries from a single camera position, Here echoes the emotional simultaneity of D. W. Griffith’s Intolerance, weaving multiple storylines across time. With a playful technical sophistication reminiscent of a mid-century World’s Fair exhibit, its iconographic representation of histories personal and global, and its plangent overtones of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town, the film presents a tapestry of human experience—from disappointment and loneliness to moments of triumph. Tom Hanks and Robin Wright anchor the film as its central couple, their performances enhanced by innovative CGI aging techniques. Zemeckis, known for his dynamic camera work, embraces the constraint of a static frame, returning to the proscenium style of early cinema. This approach forgoes Griffith-style analytical editing within scenes, instead building tension toward a transcendent finale.
Here offers a meditation on the passage of time, the persistence of place, and the interconnectedness of human experiences across generations. It stands as a testament to Zemeckis’s ability to blend technological innovation with profound emotional storytelling.