Here and Now Movie Download

5 / 10

The Sounds of the City
In the bonus track of the DVD of “Here and Now” (aka, “Blue Night”), the director, Fabien Constant, describes his film as “dry.” That is the perfect word choice for this slow-moving art film.

The conceit of the film is that of a woman who receives the devastating news of a terminal disease, and the narrative seeks to capture her response in a twenty-four-hour period, as she walks the streets of New York and listens to the mundane sounds of the city.

The protagonist Vivianne, played by Sarah Jessica Parker, is an accomplished jazz singer, who interacts with strangers, friends, family, and fellow artists. But it is not until nearly the end of the film that she opens up to her ex-husband about her tragic situation. She gives a mundane interview to a reporter, meets an old chum played by a giddy and pregnant Renée Zellwegger, and, in one inexplicable moment, stands up her kind manager who is patiently waiting for her in a bar.

The filmmaking approach makes use of lengthy pauses and goes out of its way to capture spontaneous conversations by passersby on the streets of New York. The most intriguing “random” character met by Vivianne is a cab (or Lyft) driver. In their first encounter, the driver, Sami, is rude and disrespectful to his client to the degree that she makes him stop for her to get out of the vehicle. But in their later encounter, he has such empathy for her that he virtually becomes her support system in this crisis. While performed in earnest by the actor, it was difficult to believe that this was a real cabbie, especially in New York.

In listening to the interviews in the extras segment of the DVD, it was difficult not to admire the director, producers, and performers for their grit in completing this film in New York in a sixteen-day shoot. It was also clear that the film artists were dedicated to the seriousness of the project and the depth of feeling that was the intended goal to convey to audiences. Unfortunately, the objective of Vivianne “making peace” with her situation did not come across in the labored experience of her twenty-four hours bustling around New York. In a word, the experience of this film for the audience was summed up best by the director: “dry.”Read More