‘Here’ movie review: Join Tom Hanks in this living room at the end of the universe

Tom Hanks, left, and Robin Wright in a scene from “Here”

This is a big anniversary year for director Robert Zemeckis as he celebrates 40 years of collaboration with composer Alan Silvestri starting with Romancing the Stone and 30 years since the multiple award-winning box of chocolates, Forrest Gump. Here is a big-time Forrest Gump reunion, seeing the return of its leads, Tom Hanks and Robin Wright as well as crew, which apart from Zemeckis and Silvestri, includes writer (Eric Roth), cinematographer (Don Burgess), sound designer (Randy Thom), and costume designer (Joanna Johnston).

Probably it is all the anniversary feeling that makes this adaptation of Richard McGuire’s eponymous comic book feel burdened by nostalgia. Though non-linear like the comic, Here begins with the dinosaurs, then there is the ice age, and the ice melts, and we realise the story is told from this one patch of land and the different dramas that play out there.

There is an Indigenous couple, who fall in love, have a child and later, the woman dies leaving the man to grow old alone. The land is then part of Benjamin Franklin’s illegitimate son, William’s estate. At the turn of the century, a house is built and Here tells the stories of the different families who live there — an aviation enthusiast John Harter (Gwilym Lee) and his wife Pauline (Michelle Dockery); the inventor of the recliner, Leo (David Fynn), and his pin-up model partner Stella (Ophelia Lovibond); the Youngs who have the house for the longest time; and the Harris family (Nicholas Pinnock, Nikki Amuka-Bird and Cache Vanderpuye).

The angle is always of the gracious bay window looking out at the old colonial. After WWII, Al (Paul Bettany) and Rose (Kelly Reilly) buy the house where they live with their three children, Richard (Tom Hanks), Elizabeth (Beau Gadsdon) and Jimmy (Harry Marcus).

Richard falls in love with Margaret (Robin Wright) and they get married in the same room and also have their daughter, Vanessa (Zsa Zsa Zemeckis) there. The passage of time is clocked by the changes in the television sets as well as the programming, apart from the clothes and the music.

Tom Hanks, right, and Robin Wright in a scene from “Here”

While focusing on the lives of regular people, with their triumphs and tears, there is a maudlin thread running through Here, which is only made bearable thanks to Hanks, who is the son, brother, dad, husband and co-worker anyone would love to have. Bettany and Reilly carve out believable characters, trying to hold their place in a rapidly changing world.

When the camera finally swings around at the end of 104 minutes (seemed much longer), we are finally set free of the rather clunky time-traveling room. Wish that T-Rex had popped up again to chomp down the megalodon though.

Here is currently running in theatres