An original film about multiple families and a special place they inhabit. The story travels through generations, capturing the most relatable of human experiences. A film by Robert Zemeckis, starring Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Paul Bettany, Kelly Reilly, Michelle Dockery, Gwilym Lee, David Fynn, Ophelia Lovibond, Nicholas Pinnock, Nikki Amuka-Bird, and Angus Wright.

Directed by American filmmaker Robert Zemeckis, HERE is a drama film co-written by Zemeckis and Eric Roth, adapted from Richard McGuire’s 2014 graphic novel. The film uniquely explores a single location’s history, using a fixed camera angle to chronicle the land’s transformation from the end of the Cretaceous Period through to the 21st century, capturing the diverse inhabitants who occupy this singular spot over millions of years.

The film’s opening depicts a prehistoric landscape populated by dinosaurs, dramatically concluding with an asteroid impact that leads to their extinction. After 65 million years, the narrative transitions to human habitation, but the progression seems abrupt and historically inconsistent.

The film appears to skip crucial evolutionary stages, jumping directly from dinosaurs to seemingly modern human settlements. The area later becomes part of William Franklin’s estate.

William Franklin (1730 – 1813) was the illegitimate son of Benjamin Franklin and served as the last colonial Governor of New Jersey. Unlike his father, who became a prominent Patriot leader during the American Revolution, William remained a staunch Loyalist, which ultimately led to a significant rift between them.

While the screenplay includes scenes with an indigenous couple (Joel Oulette & Dannie McCallum), it apparently omits transitional human development stages like early hominids, Paleolithic hunter-gatherers, and intermediate civilizational forms.

Later, the house is built directly across from William Franklin’s estate. Its first tenants are John Harter (Gwilym Lee) and his wife Pauline Harter (Michelle Dockery). Pauline is immediately skeptical of the property, remarking that the house is far too small for their needs and she can barely imagine anyone living comfortably in such a cramped space. However, John passionately persuades her, emphasizing the potential of living near the planned aerodrome. He speaks of this location as the future he envisions for them, driven by his deep-seated obsession with flight.

Then the film starts to jumble around, jumping back and forth in time, showing us people who live in the very room without telling us how they are all connected or how they are relevant to the narrative. Later inhabitants of the house include the inventor of the La-Z-Boy recliner Leo Beekman (David Fynn) and his wife Stella (Ophelia Lovibond); Al Young (Paul Bettany) and his wife Rose (Kelly Reilly); and Devon Harris (Nicholas Pinnock), his wife (Nikki Amuka-Bird), their teenage son Justin (Cache Vanderpuye), and their housekeeper Raquel (Anya Marco Harris). Perhaps they mostly are just supporting characters, the Young family remains at the center of it all.

The original inventors of the La-Z-Boy recliner are Edward M. Knabusch and Edwin J. Shoemaker, who were cousins. They founded their furniture company in 1927 in Monroe, Michigan. Their first design was a wooden slat porch chair with a reclining mechanism, which they later upholstered to create a more comfortable indoor version. The name “La-Z-Boy” was chosen through a public contest to name the chair, reflecting its purpose as a comfortable and relaxing piece of furniture.

Al Young and his wife Rose are searching for a home in the aftermath of World War II. While meeting with a real estate agent (Jenna Boyd), Rose casually mentions that Al is a veteran of the Battle of Saint-Lô, still recovering from hearing loss in his left ear—a result of a shell explosion that occurred dangerously close to him during the war. Initially, Al is hesitant about the house, finding its price beyond his budget. However, when Rose reveals she is three months pregnant, Al’s mood shifts. He decides to purchase the property, seeing it as the foundation for their family’s future.

The Battle of Saint-Lô was a significant conflict during World War II, taking place from 7 – 19 July 1944, in the town of Saint-Lô, Normandy, France. This battle was part of the broader Normandy Campaign and was crucial for the Allies as they sought to secure key transportation routes in the region. The battle commenced after extensive Allied bombardments aimed at crippling German defenses and cutting off reinforcements. By the time ground operations began, approximately 800 French civilians had died due to these bombardments.

Years later, Al and Rose’s son Richard (Tom Hanks), now an 18-year-old teenager, brings his girlfriend Margaret (Robin Wright) home to meet his family. In a moment of youthful impulsiveness, Richard and Margaret have unprotected sex, resulting in an unplanned pregnancy. Facing the consequences of their actions, they decide to marry, with Margaret moving in with Richard’s parents.

It’s unsettling, like I’m watching a horror film where a younger CGI Tom Hanks speaks with an old man’s voice. Their decision to marry in this house instead of a church feels inexplicably bizarre. Must we witness every single moment confined to this single room?

At one point in the history, the area was used as an indigenous people’s sacred burial ground.

Years later, Margaret starts showing signs of dementia. She eventually decides to leave Richard after he has failed to live up to her expectations and made multiple excuses not to find a place to live on their own instead of living in Richard’s parents’ house.

When the camera is fixed to the exact same location, it feels like I’m watching a stage production of a play. There’s nothing wrong with the storytelling technique if you have an intriguing narrative, which this film doesn’t have. For example, the 2002 film Phone Booth captivated audiences by containing its protagonist within a single phone booth.

Despite the film’s numerous flaws, it manages to deliver some memorable, darkly humorous moments. One particularly absurd scene stands out: during Margaret’s labor, their young son Jimmy (Albie Salter) makes the unconventional decision to call the fire department instead of an ambulance. Surprisingly, the firemen suddenly appear and deliver the baby right there in the room. It’s as if the screenwriters were adamant that every single significant moment must unfold within this single space, operating under the bizarre assumption that the audience would be lost without this narrative constraint.

Firefighters are often trained to assist with emergency childbirth. Many fire departments provide emergency medical services (EMS) as part of their core responsibilities, which includes medical training such as basic life support, CPR, and emergency delivery techniques. Firefighters are typically first responders who arrive quickly at emergency scenes, and they may be called upon to help with medical emergencies when an ambulance is not immediately available or is still en route. This includes situations where a woman is about to give birth and cannot wait to reach a hospital.

It’s also interesting that the filmmaker incorporated the COVID-19 pandemic into the narrative — a global event that occurred in 2020, well after the original graphic novel’s 2014 publication — while conspicuously omitting the September 11 attacks. This selective approach to historical moments feels both deliberate and puzzling. Ultimately, the narrative feels too generic to be truly memorable or impactful.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a global health crisis caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). It began with an outbreak in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 and rapidly spread worldwide, leading the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare it a public health emergency of international concern on 30 January 2020, and subsequently a pandemic on 11 March 2020.

HERE premiered at AFI Fest on 25 October 2024. The film was theatrically released in the United States on 1 November, by Sony Pictures.