“If these walls could talk…” That phrase is often said about the sites of well-known historical events, but it also applies to the private places where we spend most of our lives. In his upcoming film Here, director Robert Zemeckis puts a new spin on that idea, exploring what would happen if these walls could see.
Here takes place entirely from one fixed point of view. The camera never budges. It doesn’t zoom and never even turns. What does move—and rather quickly—is time. More than a century of life in one American living room plays out during the brisk 104-minute story. The single perspective never changes, but everything around it does,
Zemeckis tells Vanity Fair in this exclusive first look. It’s actually never been done before. There are similar scenes in very early silent movies, before the language of montage was invented. But other than that, yeah, it was a risky venture.
A Reunion for Forrest Gump Fans
Here is a Forrest Gump reunion of sorts, both in front of and behind the camera. The film, which debuts in theaters November 15th, stars Tom Hanks and Robin Wright and was cowritten by Zemeckis and Eric Roth, all of whom collaborated on that earlier Oscar-winner. Little has been shared about Here’s unusual point of view until now. That’s the excitement of it,
Zemeckis says. What passes by this view of the universe? I think it’s an interesting way to do a meditation on mortality. It taps into the universal theme that everything passes.
The Challenges and Innovations with De-Aging Technology
Although Here’s focal point doesn’t change, the actors do. Hanks plays a baby boomer named Richard, who at certain times in the story is approximately his own age of 67 but also traverses the decades thanks to traditional makeup effects, as well as digital de-aging effects. Hanks ages into his late 80s and also goes backward to when Richard was a very young man in the 1960s—looking just like his TV show debut as the baby-faced star of 1980’s Bosom Buddies. Wright joins the story during Richard’s late teenage years as his girlfriend and later wife, Margaret, pulling her husband through changing times.
Tapping Into the Uncanny Valley
Zemeckis knows well how tricky these transformations can be, even with state-of-the-art tools. His holiday film The Polar Express pioneered digital performers 20 years ago, continued refining them in A Christmas Carol, and now builds upon those techniques with Here. I’ve always been labeled as this visual effects guy. But those were always there to serve the character arc,
he says. Zemeckis has always shown audiences things they don’t see in real life. Yet successfully cracking this transformation involves voices as much as visuals.
The Essence of Time Through Changing Scenery
The film doesn’t smash-cut through the years; instead, it uses gradual transitions rather than abrupt jumps to guide viewers backward or forward in time.
Zemeckis and Roth borrowed this effect from the 2014 graphic novel by Richard McGuire, adapting it from his comic strip created in 1989. Using panels to layer segments of the room from different eras before fully transitioning ensures overlaps between stories are seamless.
A Unique Storytelling Method Bringing Novel Experiences to Life
Zemeckis compares watching something on stage where viewers become editors by deciding what parts to focus on themselves—bringing us deeper into each scene as universal experiences cross generations.
An Exploration Beyond Personal Stories
The film explores beyond just personal family stories; it flashes back to various inhabitants within those four walls facing their struggles.
A Story Connecting Time And Identity Across Decades
The film journeys even further back showing glimpses before structures existed—a unique aspect adding depth.
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