by Scott Batchelor, Contributing Writer
Robert Zemeckis and Tom Hanks return for their fifth collaboration, and while nothing has grabbed moviegoers like the enough-talked-about Forrest Gump, this reviewer fails to find a bad outing… *rechecks notes* oh my gosh, Zemeckis directed Pinocchio! Well, I’ve enjoyed most of them. And as much as he is not the movie star he was in the ‘90s, Hanks is still a national treasure that will always be a joy to watch. Even if it is through a contrived lens.
Here is a concept movie that follows the lives that come in and out of one location. This movie sure does start with a choice. We are taken back to the beginning. Of everything. Like dinosaurs and the Ice Age. It’s wild. We montage our way through a good chunk of the first act, meeting all of our bit players and recurring family starting with Paul Bettany as Al and Kelly Reilly as his wife Rose. They play eventual parents to Hanks’ Richard. Our montage of quick glimpses into the history of the room nearly comes to a halt once we meet Robin Wright’s Margaret. She starts as Richard’s high school sweetheart using de-aging technology that isn’t too distracting, but eventually finds herself pregnant and forced to live with Richard and his family.
Because of the camera being locked in one place, Zemeckis has to get clever with his edits to transition and to weave around time and storylines. The way you are taken on this journey is largely nonlinear, until it is, and then it isn’t again. But even still, you can somehow mostly keep up. This is more like a stage play that utilizes the background and context clues to signify the passage of time. Not every family and story is connected, but there are interwoven themes between the independent narratives and our main family.
As for the acting, Paul Bettany is bloody brilliant. He delivers strong monologues in the beginning, and while they may be melodramatic, I’m sucked in. I want to know more about him. When the movie cuts away, I’m sad, and then delighted to see him again when we get more of his story. It’s really impressive how you can tell he is Hanks’ dad before we meet Hanks’ character.
While for the most part I am able to buy into the gimmick, some scenes feel like a stretch. I have a hard time suspending my disbelief that one room would be the place for monumental life events like a wedding, and the invention of the La-Z-Boy recliner, and a birth… two of them. But a few recurring threads tie it together, like a baby who keeps popping up, Al as a father who struggles with his own issues of dealing with a dream deferred, and Margaret who just can’t stand the place.
At some point, though, it hits you — this isn’t really a comedy. There’s plenty of heartache, but it all feels earned, again, until it’s not. Which is an unintentional theme when watching this movie: Some of it works, and some of it doesn’t. There was already the gimmick of a fixed camera the movie probably didn’t need to follow so many different stories and only pay off a few of them with their conclusions.
Here doesn’t quite stick the landing, but with the disjointed timeline, I’m not sure it could. Some storylines I was really into don’t wrap up in a satisfying way. It’s an ambitious project, and with a more cohesive story, it could’ve been even better. But credit where credit’s due, the effort is something to admire.
Rating: Liked It
Here is currently playing in theaters
You can read more from Scott Batchelor, and follow him on Letterboxd and Twitter