Actor Tom Hanks has shown a remarkable versatility in films whether comedy, drama or a mix of both. His repertoire incudes movies as diverse as ‘Forrest Gump’, ‘’Philadelphia’, ‘Saving Mr Banks’ and the ‘Da Vinci Code’. Similarly impressive is the career of writer/director Robert Zemeckis renowned for his distinctive movies which range from the quirky to the unusual. In this his latest film he delivers another distinctive work.
The plot is basically the history of a specific house and its successive occupants over a period of more than a century. Familiar conflicts unfold within its walls: the frictions between married couples, between parents and their children and between people with their in-laws. People grow up, grow old and die in this extended history of one particular house. While the film depicts ordinary events, its narrative form is not so ordinary.
We see the house built around 1900 and learn about the families who occupy it from that period until the present day. Married couple Al and Rose Young have the longest tenure extending from the end of World War II to the beginning of the 21st century. Their first child Richard (Tom Hanks) is born soon after they move in and he lives most of his life in that particular home with his wife, children and parents.
The film is episodic as it moves from one time period to another and back again and from the various families who occupy the home during more than a century. Although it darts from one time period to another, each specific period unfolds in chronological order so that there is a continuity within each depicted timeline. Occasionally, the chronology extends even further back to the colonial US and even earlier.
‘Here’ directed by Robert Zemeckis
Despite these constant changes in time periods, the film is not distorted or fragmentary. The stories run parallel within their distinctive timelines forming a series of coherent narratives. The transition from one period to another is not sudden but gradual; squares and rectangles introduce the change in timeline on the screen of the present one. They appear like patches, first one then another until the entire scene changes to another period. This device also stresses that change by the contrast in decor, furniture, appliances and fashions from one period to another.
Like an audience watching a stage play, our physical viewpoint does not change from the living room of this Victorian house. In fact, it is not until the last few minutes that we change our perspective as if leaving a theatre seat.
The photography, acting, script all combine to make an interesting and novel take on the everyday lives of ordinary and not-so-ordinary people. The CGI effects deserve special mention. At the very beginning, we see the prehistoric past of this locale with dinosaurs tramping about in a lush tropical jungle. But most remarkable is the on-screen ageing (or rather ‘un-ageing’) of the characters particularly Tom Hanks: initially we see him as he looked 35 years ago! The authenticity is impressive.
‘Here’ is a kaleidoscopic view of the lives which unfold in one particular place over many generations. Its simple title belies a multi-layered scenario of many characters and events. Once again, this director and his cast succeed in creating yet another original movie by depicting conventional content in an unconventional form. The result is an entertaining film which holds our attention from beginning to end.