I’m not sure what to make of Robert Zemeckis’ “Here.” We have a film, starring a de-aged Tom Hanks and Robin Wright, that’s basically one long 90-minute static shot. Zemeckis' film was shot from a single POV, without movement or zooms, across a centuries-spanning narrative.
For almost a year now, I’ve been hearing positive things about’ “Here,” which reunites Hanks with his “Forrest Gump” director (Zemeckis) and screenwriter (Eric Roth). So has Deadline’s Andreas Wiseman. Here’s some of the intel he’s just published on the film:
Multiple distributors I’ve spoken to who have seen the ambitious Robert Zemeckis movie are fans. One told me it’s a “unique, Oscar contender”, while another said it “packs an emotional wallop and had me in tears.” Admittedly, some others I spoke to were more in the middle on it.
Wiseman goes on to add that in “a wide open awards year, it has been surprising to see the Forrest Gump reunion “Here” barely get a mention on recent Oscar prediction lists and on betting websites.”
Last year, Roth had mentioned to me how proud he was about this film. Based on the test reactions, he might have a point. According to one source, “Here” is one of the highest-scoring films in Sony’s history. It scored a 95 in the top two boxes and an “87 definite recommend”. They’re so confident about this one that they’re positioning it for Oscars this fall.
“Here” is based on Richard McGuire’s graphic novel and covers the events of a single room and its inhabitants spanning from the past to well into the future. In the film, Zemeckis is, again, attempting to be at the forefront of bleeding-edge technology as the film aims to use deepfake VFX to de-age actors with the help of effects studio Metaphysic. The technology will use “high-resolution photorealistic faceswaps and de-aging effects on top of actors’ performances live and in real-time without the need for further compositing or VFX work.”
Zemeckis was on quite the hot streak from 1980-2000 — “Used Cars,” “Romancing the Stone,” “Back to the Future,” “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” “Forrest Gump,” “Contact” and “Cast Away.” These last 20 years, he’s been much more hit and miss, some of his more approvable films of the current century include “Allied,” “The Walk” and “Flight.”
Sony has given the 104-minute “Here” what THR has called, “a prime awards-season spot on the theatrical calendar.” The film will go wide on November 15. Before then, it’s set to have its world premiere at AFI Fest on October 25.