So lets rewind. It Snowed! I know the fuck! It never snows but last wednesday we got 90mins of snow on top of rain & ice. It mean the entire south coast stopped. So even though im good at driving in the snow i was like nope go home girl. So i did. I went home & watched the traitors & didnt even attempt to getting to my advanced preview of Here, as it would be on everywhere. Turns out traffic was hell so i made the right choice there. But then when this weeks times came out, it wasnt at brighton Cineworld or either of my local independents, so here i am on a saturday morning driving up to crawley to see a film thats not in Imax & you know what, its still fucking freezing 10 days later… what i do for you Tom Hanks.

I really want to go see a film on the top flaw of the Crawley cineworld, but nah not today screen 11 is a little adorable one by the back door, its sweet.

Id say there was about 30 people in my screening for this film. A good mix of ages too. I was impressed with the people who were here for this. Id say the screen could probably have 120 people in it. So That’s good.

Trailers, The Last Show Girl, the Brutalist, The Presence & Bridget Jones. Weird to go from all awards season to then fluff but oh well.

& then the film started… In years to come people will sit there & wonder why this didnt get all the love it deserves.

The de-aging was very weird on them im not going to lie. It was very odd looking at Tom Hanks as a much younger man for a good portion of this film. Especially when there were people around him who were the correct age. It felt a little bit weird & like it shouldnt be happening.

Tom Hanks is still the greatest actor to ever live, im sorry he is & he is so good in this as are most people if im honest, but there was someone who stood out… Paul Bettany. I mean i knew he was good & had range, but he was so good in this. We saw almost all of his life & what he went through & he was the character i was moved by the most. He was so good.

I did also laugh each time the guy from midsummer murders showed up. Still freaks me out that hes in movies during awards season, when he should be concerned with who has died via a washing machine & chasing after Barnaby.

I loved the station camera. I really did. Everything just happened in that one space & it was cleverly done. Okay yes the dinosaurs might not have been exactly in that spot but you know. It was interesting watching how time & life passed. There was a couple of parts with mirrors that was very clever i liked that a lot, i got excited seeing that.

For once a non lineal story worked. Each story within the non lineal film was lineal, but it was good how we jumped between them. I liked when part of the screen changed to show one event going on while something else was going on there from the past or future. It was beautifully put together. Set design & cinematography for this film needs applauding a lot.

Each story was really simple & to the point, just like life. So much so you were thinking some peoples lives were going one way & then they went another. I thought one person was going to pass away one way but they didnt. Also the emergency chairs & tables for family get togethers. So so true.

The score was sweet & emotive too, slowly building the big crescendo at the end, where you feel everything this space had to offer over the hundred of years we had seen it, even up to covid times.

I get it was talking about the lives happening in the rooms, but there could have been a little bit more about world events that had happened to see how characters reacted & how peoples opinions changed or how they were when stuff happened, because when life does happen these events to shape & change people. Im not saying it needed every even (as a millenial we see one each 6 months so its now a bit boring) but a few more would have been nice. Cos we changed the technology & the music & the styles of life, why not show more to sahow how its shaped us.

It had moments of laughter, but also lots of hard conversations that felt very real, it also talked about love & loss in a very healthy way that we all maybe do need to bring into our own lives.

In 10 to 20 years time people will watch this & go why didnt this get the love it deserved but in 2024/5? Its definitely one that will grow & be appreciated in time. Yes it has a few flaws, but the premise & how you life is just what you make it, it will be appreciated so much. Its worth a watch peoples for sure. It hits hard when it has to but is also very soft & caring of you as a viewer.