Peter Hujar's Day

2.5/5

Appreciated more than enjoyed. Peter Hujar’s Day is a pseudo-documentary reenactment of a conversation between Linda Rosenkrantz (Rebecca Hall) and Peter Hujar (Ben Whishaw) in 1974. Linda wanted to explore the daily lives of her artist friends and recorded a number of conversations with them about their days. This book never saw the light of day, but a transcript of her conversation with Peter was found decades later in his estate. That transcript is the basis for this film by Ira Sachs, who manages to capture a stellar performance by Ben Whishaw, fully embodying the unique sensibilities of Hujar.

This film, however, is hardly a film. As an acting exercise, it’s great—but the literal translation of the transcript to the screen is just too thin, and the subject matter itself is so bare-bones that I’d have a hard time recommending this film to anyone who isn’t particularly interested in this specific time period and these artists.

That said, if you are interested at all, this is worth checking out. It’s a breezy 67 minutes, and Hujar describes his day with all the detail I wish my friends could drum up when I ask such a simple question. Hall and Whishaw also tap into something universal—how it so frequently feels like our days are filled with nothing (and how hard it is to realize our days are filled with everything when we are in the midst of living them). There is a clever fourth-wall break here, too, that shows some of Sachs’ style—a slight wink and nod to the unique enterprise we are embarking on with a film like this—but the decision to shoot in 16mm is not enough to give it a truly potent visual identity to match our idiosyncratic star. There is something slightly compelling here; I just wish it were more than slight.