Here

Here is the latest film from director and co-writer Robert Zemeckis. It reunites him with Forest Gump scribe Eric Roth, as well as the leads of that film, Tom Hanks and Robin Wright. Based on the 2014 graphic novel, by Robert Maguire, the film employs the source materials hook and look: everything takes place in one space, with a camera that does not move and overlapping boxes that allow you to see different eras of time all at once. Sometimes, this works, and sometimes it becomes distracting or pointless. The film is ambitious, perhaps too ambitious. The result is likely to divide audiences rather sharply.

You have a story about a Native American couple, and one about Benjamin Franklin and his family. You get to see the house being built, and you get to see the spot when it was in the age of the dinosaurs. There is a focus on the families that lived in the house during the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. These include an early aviation enthusiast, a slightly bohemian couple, multiple generations of a family from the end of the second world war through the early 21^st, and an African American family after that. Only the multiple generation family is given real screen time, yet few of the most interesting characters or developments come from them. This reviewer’s favorite storyline was that of the bohemian couple.

None of this is to say that any of the storylines are a dud, but there is so much going on that the time spent-the film runs only an hour and forty-four minutes-is not enough to give justice to what it ought to give justice. This is a film which closely imitates, for better or worse, the look and feel of its source material. The result is a stage-bound world in which we only glimpse lives and we are told far more than we are shown. We meet many characters who are only there for a minute but whom we wish we could spend more time with than those who make up central stories. We are told more about characters, who appear to have finally become interesting, than we ever see of them. There may be arguments about selecting what to have on screen, or staying faithful to the material, but there are enough changes already that a few more would only have benefited the experience. Sometimes, being a good adaptation means staying faithful, but in nearly every case, being a great one means making the material work uniquely for the screen. This does not fully accomplish that.

The most remarkable thing, and perhaps the truly noteworthy thing about this film, is what has to be the best use, to date, of de-aging effects. The work on Tom Hanks and Robin Wright lacks the plasticity and uncanny valley appearance of nearly all prior use of the technique. Yet, for all the wizardry employed, it is not until these characters age, that their story moves forward. That is part of the point of the film, of course, but the way it is presented may feel a bit of a slog for some. Otherwise, this is a film that while it is not going to win any awards, does not commit the types of major sins seen in truly stupid or bad films.

It is ultimately about intimate connections, and how the spaces we share are shared, both while we are there, but also before and after us. It has ideas drawn from many literary and academic fields but finds itself unable to explore them in any detail. This is a film where an extra fifteen minutes would have greatly enhanced the work, as would doing more to show, rather than tell. It is emotionally charged, and you realize early on this is a film with its heart and soul on its sleeve. Those who have memories, good or bad, of growing up in the twentieth century, who are married, divorced, have lost family members, or deal with any form of alienation, are going to have strong reactions. For some it will work, and for many, it is likely to be a film that leaves them drained. In spite of the corniness, and the details that could have been added, this reviewer personally enjoyed the film. Objectively, however, there are flaws. See it for yourself, but do not feel obligated to stay the entire ride. Once you have seen the first act of the film, you have the formula for pretty much everything you are going to get.

HERE is now showing in theaters