Ira Sach’s Peter Hujar’s Day isn’t really about what its title would suggest, focusing more on our universal need for connection than the titular 24 hours.
Writer & Director: Ira Sachs
Genre: Drama
Run Time: 75
Berlin Film Festival Screening: February 14, 2025
U.S. Release Date: TBA
U.K. Release Date: TBA
On paper, Ira Sachs’ Peter Hujar’s Day is about a single 24 hours in the life of Peter Hujar, a prominent photographer in the New York cultural scene of the 70s and 80s. The tale is told from Hujar himself, who had an actual conversation with writer Linda Rosenkrantz in 1974, when the latter was working on a project where she’d ask her artist friends to describe a typical day in their lives, which they’d randomly choose and chronicle to her.
Though the project was never completed, Hujar did go to Rosenkrantz’s apartment on December 19, 1974, when he proceeded to chronicle his activities on the day before – a day which was particularly important for him, since that’s when he photographed Beat Generation poet Allen Ginsberg, and also spoke with various important figures of the time, like writer Susan Sontag. Rosenkrantz taped it all, and though the audio itself was lost, a transcript was found that was then published as a 36-page book in 2002. With no access to any recordings of Hujar and Rosenkrantz’s voices and only this transcript on which to build an entire movie, writer-director Ira Sachs and stars Ben Whishaw (Women Talking) and Rebecca Hall (The Night House) recreate that conversation, adding their own interpretations to bring these characters to life.
But that’s not really what Peter Hujar’s Day is about. Yes, the film itself shows you what I’ve just described: we watch as the photographer gives Linda Rosenkrantz a very detailed account of the previous day, complete with gossip on the people he met, observations on himself and his life, and the most unimportant details, from missed phone calls to the food he consumed and the clothes he wore. Yet what kept my eyes glued to the screen for the entire duration of the film had nothing to do with the words that are spoken in it. It’s what’s happening underneath that makes Peter Hujar’s Day the gem that it is, from lingering glances to prolonged silences and brief moments of touching as our characters feel more and more at ease with one another, and real intimacy is built.
At some point in the film, Rosenkrantz explains that the reason why she wanted to do this project in the first place was that she felt like she didn’t do anything with her days, and she wanted to discover how her artist friends filled their time. It’s in this line that lies the essence of the film itself, where we soon become painfully aware of how uneventful and lonely Hujar’s life is too, and how desperately both characters need to be seen and heard by each other, and to find that their lives matter.
Peter Hujar’s Day marks Sachs’ second collaboration with Ben Whishaw after 2022’s Passages, and there couldn’t have been a more perfect choice to play the titular artist. Whishaw has a real talent for making each character he plays so heartbreakingly authentic, showing us all the emotion that’s bubbling underneath the façade we see. Here, he is hypnotic, and one of the reasons why the film works so well. Rebecca Hall is just as impressive: even if her character is mostly listening to Hujar, she manages to show us just how much of a burden Rosenkrantz’s self-awareness and empathy are to her, and how much despair is concealed underneath her affectionate, caring smile.
The use of space is impressive, too, as the movie often feels more like a theatre play. Even though its entire runtime consists of two people talking, the way Hall and Whishaw navigate Rosenkrantz’s house add so much depth to its subtext, letting us watch them get closer to each other not only physically and metaphorically, but also in a surprisingly sexy way. Visually, not all of the choices pay off, but the grainy look of the movie gives it that extra layer of authenticity that can be found in Sachs’ entire body of work, and that really helps give our character more context. Some of the editing choices don’t pay off, such as a flashing light mimicking the flash of a camera that sometimes appears in between shots, but overall, this is a gorgeous movie.
There are many themes hidden within Peter Hujar’s Day‘s deceptively simple premise, and each audience member will focus on different ones depending on their life experiences and state of mind. There’s certainly plenty of commentary on art and creativity, for example, which a lot of viewers are bound to pick up on. To me, the film is yet another confirmation that both Ira Sachs and Ben Whishaw excel at creating real intimacy, and that their collaboration – this time, further improved by a fantastic turn from Hall – can only bring stunning, meaningful work.
Peter Hujar’s Day: Movie Plot & Recap
Synopsis:
Photographer Peter Hujar chronicles his activities over the course of a single 24 hours to writer Linda Rosenkrantz, who’s assembling conversations with various artists for a project she’s working on. As we listen to Hujar’s tale, something happens between the two that creates a real sense of intimacy that shows us just how lonely both characters are, and how desperately they need to be heard.
Pros:
- The subtext turns a straightforward premise into a much more complex, thematically layered film that will give you much to think about
- Superb performances from Ben Whishaw and Rebecca Hall
- Impressive use of space that makes it feel like a theatre play
- A grainy, stunning look that makes the movie feel more authentic
Cons:
- If you don’t like slow-burning films where not much happens, this definitely isn’t for you
- There’s a specific transition between shots, involving a white light separating one from the other like the flash of a camera, that doesn’t work at all
Peter Hujar’s Day premiered at the Berlin Film Festival on February 14, 2025. Read our Berlin Film Festival reviews!
