Here: A Misguided Concept for a Feature Film (Blu-ray)

The Film:

Back in 1994, director Robert Zemeckis and screenwriter Eric Roth got together with Tom Hanks and Robin Wright to make "Forrest Gump," a film that quickly became a classic and not only was a massive box office success, but also dominated the Oscars that season with six wins (out of 13 nominations), including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay. 30 years later, these four have reunited for a new project that boldly attempts to adapt the concept of Richard McGuire's rather abstract graphic novel "Here," which shows us events occurring in one spot over the course of history. Could lighting possibly strike twice for this talented quartet, or is this a project that's perhaps a little too ambitious to bring to the screen?

Told in a nonlinear structure, the film gives us brief glimpses of the events occurring in this one spot, going as far back as the dinosaurs & early mankind, but also giving us a look at the estate of William Franklin (Benjamin Franklin's son) in the 1770s, a flight-obsessed pilot and his wife at the turn of the century, and an inventor & his companion a few decades later. However, the film's primary focus is the Young family, starting with Al (Paul Bettany) and his wife Rose (Kelly Reilly), who buy the house at the end of WWII in 1945. Several years later, their son Richard (Tom Hanks) gets his girlfriend Margaret (Robin Wright) pregnant, with the two getting married and raising their daughter in the family home. The film proceeds to follow the Young family through their highs and lows throughout the next several decades.

Anyone who's flipped through McGuire's unusual graphic novel could tell you that the material isn't exactly something that jumps out as being easily adaptable for the screen in any capacity, let alone for a feature-length film. Despite the novel running about 300 pages, there isn't a whole lot of substance there in the first place, which made it necessary for co-screenwriters Roth and Zemeckis to basically come up with their own story to fill the time, while still staying true to the concept of viewing the same space throughout several different periods.

However, the major roadblock that they end up running into is that their central story, the one focusing on the Young family, isn't nearly enough to fill the runtime of a feature film, and so, in an effort to pad it out, they decided to throw in several "side stories" that don't have anything to do with the main narrative. These side stories may fit into the overall concept of what took place in this room at different times, but all they really end up doing is acting as a distraction from the central characters and their various activities.It gives the film the feeling of having a major focus issue, which is only compounded by its remarkably gimmicky approach of having the camera remain stationary throughout nearly the entire film.

As mentioned, one of its biggest issues is that this simply isn't enough material for a feature film, which makes it a bit of a shame because it does seem like something that could've easily worked as a short. All that really needed to be done was to take the narrative of the Young family and tell their story over the course of a more appropriate runtime, while still staying true to the concept of showing us the same space over the years. With far fewer pointless distractions and more focus on the substantive material, the result would very likely turn out far better than the wandering mess that the feature-length version ultimately becomes.

This was certainly a very ambitious attempt to bring a story like this to the big screen, but in this case, the filmmakers should've realized the limits of the material. Trying to pad out this peculiar concept really didn't do it any favors, and sadly merely ends up drowning out what little substantial material there is in these 100-ish minutes. There may have been a lot of talent involved, but when the approach to the material is this misguided, even all of their skills aren't going to be enough to save it from its fundamental issues.

Video/Audio:

"Here" comes to Blu-ray in a 1.78:1, 1080p High Definition transfer of excellent quality. The picture is beautifully clear & sharp throughout, highlighting the film's multitude of visual effects. Likewise, the 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio is marvelous, giving you all of the dialogue and Alan Silvestri's score in outstanding quality. Overall, Sony has done a fantastic job for the film's physical debut.

Special Features:

How We Got Here (20 Minutes): An intriguing behind the scenes look at the making of the film, featuring interviews with the cast and crew.

Deleted Scenes (9 Sequences, 9 Minutes)

Conclusion:

Robert Zemeckis' "Here" may boast the involvement of remarkable filmmaking & acting talent in its ambitious attempt to adapt the unusual concept of Richard McGuire's graphic novel, but the result is a heavily-distracted, wandering film that has an awful lot of trouble keeping the focus where it needs to be, ultimately making this a misguided experiment that's never able to come together.

Score: 2.5/5

Available on Blu-ray starting today.

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