If you want to watch a Robert Zemeckis film starring Tom Hanks, spanning a significant period of time, you currently have just a handful of options: most notably Forrest Gump, and arguably Cast Away too. Now, get ready to add a third entry to that list: Here. Zemeckis’ new film, adapted from Richard McGuire’s graphic novel, comes with a unique hook: the entire thing plays out in the same fixed camera angle, with its characters and setting evolving within the frame. Through the same room (plus glimpses of time before a house was even built in that spot), we’ll see characters age up and down, the furnishing come and go, exploring everything life has to offer.
Specifically, those characters include Tom Hanks’ Richard, and Robin Wright’s Margaret – marking a long-awaited Forrest Gump reunion for the pair and their director. “When Tom signed on, the first thing I said to him was, ‘We gotta ask Robin if she wants to play Margaret,’” Zemeckis tells Empire. “He said, ‘That would be fantastic.’ They just have this magical screen presence together.” Thankfully, Wright agreed.
While shooting an entire film from a single camera angle brought plenty of technical challenges, it provided a canvas for Hanks and Wright to bring the kind of emotional pull that only they can provide. “When you have actors who have chemistry and they’re fully in the same frame, it’s very intimate and powerful,” explains Zemeckis. “The timing of the performance is completely real. There’s no false storytelling imposed on what they’re doing.” Here’s hoping Here conjures some of that Forrest Gump magic – bring your own box of chocolates.
Read Empire’s full Here story – speaking to Robert Zemeckis about the making of his latest innovative feature – in the Mickey 17 issue, on sale Thursday 24 October. Order a copy online here. Here comes to UK cinemas from 17 January.