It’s a disappointment, whether it takes place here or there.
The last great movie Robert Zemeckis has made was “The Walk,” which was his marvelous take on how Philippe Petit walked a tightrope between the Twin Towers. The last good movie he has made was “Allied,” which was a romance between two spies, one of whom may have been a double agent. But his last three films-“Welcome to Marwen,” “The Witches,” and the dreadful remake of Disney’s “Pinocchio”-have been less than successful. It’s a shame that his movie career is deteriorating, considering a lot of the exceptional movies he has made in the past.
His latest entry “Here” serves as a “Forrest Gump” reunion between himself and his stars Tom Hanks and Robin Wright. And it also serves as a somewhat anthology film where we have different stories literally taking place in the same area which will soon be the same room. We begin with the meteor taking out the dinosaurs, a forest growing, and the development of new homes.
In this area, we have a variety of characters moving in and moving out. They consist of Hanks as the young would-be artist Richard Young, Wright as his love Margaret, Paul Bettany as his war vet and alcoholic father, Kelly Reilly as his sensitive wife, Gwilym Lee as a pilot, Michelle Dockery as his cynical and snooty wife, David Flynn as an inventor, Ophelia Lovibond as his wife, and Nikki Amuka-Bird as a modern day mom. And since the Hanks-Wright timeline shows us in their teens and adulthood, that means we get de-aging effects.
So, could this be Zemeckis’ comeback? Could he be finally returning to form? According to have I have seen, the answer is no. A lot of things go on in this spot and in this house. We have a Thanksgiving dinner with Chinese food (nothing on “A Christmas Story”), Benjamin Franklin’s son criticizing his father’s work, and all kinds of family arguments and pathos. And unfortunately, none of these scenes have any point or much payoffs.
What’s amazing about the film is how the production design of the different homes look amazing, as if they are shot on different sets with the same camera angle pointing in the direction it wants to be filmed in. Sometimes, they look eccentric, sometimes, the look old-fashioned, and sometimes, they can be dull. And that’s basically how I would summon up the story.
As I was watching “Here,” I was thinking of Tom Hanks movie that is wild under-appreciated. “Cloud Atlas” was a Sci-Fi drama which took place in different time periods with an all-star cast playing different characters and half of them are disguised by make-up. Hanks played a survivor, an evil doctor, a ruthless gangster, a scientist, and so forth. If you give it another look, you’d find it to be original and dazzling, like it wants to be a Sci-Fi movie on a different scale.
The stories and subplots of “Here” get scrambled so much that it ends up missing the mark. And I’m not sure how a subplot about the invention of the recliner chair would be over, but there was something eccentric inside that could be the best segment in the film. Of course, it would be a reason why my father would rather sleep on his chair than his bed, but it was before movie theaters had to have their seats plugged in and why some people have a hard time pushing the buttons. I’ll take the lever, thank you.
I know I probably said this before, but there has to be a new film Zemeckis can make that can remind us on “Forrest Gump,” “Back to the Future,” and “Who Framed Roger Rabbit.” Something to remind us about how brilliant he is as a filmmaker. But he has to do more than just reunite with Hanks and Wright. “Here” is a movie I will not be recommending here or there.