By Dan Skip Allen

I saw my share of movies set in one location or that take place in the period of one day. They’re all different and distinct. Sometimes they can be quite good and other times they can be not very good. It all depends on the material in the film and the director of said film. “Peter Hujar’s Day” is unique in its execution and result. It’s not something that everyone will like, but I found it interesting in a way. The fascinating thing about this man’s life on that particular day was mesmerizing to listen to and watch. I don’t know if I could watch it again, but I liked what I saw the first time. That’s all that matters in this case.

Peter Hujar (Ben Wishaw) is a photographer in New York City in the 70s. He is asked by Linda Rosenkrantz (Rebecca Hall) to record him regarding a day in his life. She is planning to write a book about multiple people discussing their day in a life scenario. The story starts in the morning as she comes to his apartment and has coffee and breakfast and progresses through the day into night. He tells her about a particular day the week before. The conversation is riveting, and despite what’s going on, the story is quite interesting. The way Wishaw’s character tells the story of this particular day was very fascinating. 

Ira Sachs directed this film based on the recording of this conversation that was found in a box in Hujar’s apartment. He has worked with Wishaw before in his last movie Passages in 2023. So they are familiar with each other. He is able to capture every little thing on the day in question while Whishaw’s character is discussing the day the week before. The movement of the characters from room to room, kitchen, living room, bedroom, and roof of the building was pretty impressive. There was like an artistry going on with the concept of movement in the film. The conversation between Hall and Wishaw played into that quite well.

As it is, Wishaw’s character is a photographer. He is telling a story about how he had an appointment with Alan Ginsberg to photograph him for the New York Times. In this interaction, Ed Baynard and Bob Mooney come up in the conversation. This is just part of the stuff Wishaw’s character discusses with Hall’s character. It’s more of just going through the motions of the day. Walking down the street. Having his daily coffee and toast. And reiterating that he may not be getting paid for the photos right away. The ins and outs of photography are touched upon a little bit as well. The minutiae of the conversation was so very mesmerizing that I couldn’t stop watching. 

Hall’s character was mostly glued to the conversation she was having with Wishaw’s character. Occasionally, she would ask a probing question or make an observation on what happened on the day in question about the people Wishaw’s character was interacting with, but mostly, she listened to what he was saying. Her character had a nasally voice with the distinct New York accent attached. I was glad she didn’t talk much because that voice was unbearable to listen to. On the other hand, Wishaw was using his voice that is like an angel talking even though he also had a New York accent. Hall’s character just moves along with Wishaw’s. Sometimes, she’d be lying on the bed, and other times, she’d just be smoking on the roof with him listening along to every word he was saying. They were beautiful to follow along with in this movie.

Occasionally, the film would take a break, and opera music would start playing. I think this was to give the audience a chance to get their breath while listening and watching along with this mesmerizing conversation. Other times, Whishaw’s character would put on a record while the two were talking. Johnny Nash, and they start dancing to the music. As part of the sound of the film, there were construction noises in the background or street sounds of people going through their days. The sound in the movie doesn’t seem like much, but it plays a part in how the day and conversation are rolled out. It’s brilliantly used in the film.

As a whole “Peter Hujar’s Day” is executed on a level of a terrific director, Sachs, who knows what he wants to get out of his actors and the conversation as a whole. He literally captures both of these things perfectly in my mind. The expression of the day in question and the actual conversation Hall and Wishaw’s characters are having in the apartment.There is an artistry to all of this. The sound design and cinematography are a big part of that. Both Hall and Wishaw were mesmerizing to watch and listen to throughout the one location movie. It’s the best use of one location I’ve seen since Locke for my money. I literally could listen to Wishaw read the phone book, I know that’s an old reference,  but it’s true. He has an amazing voice. Millions of people have watched the Paddington movies, so that goes without saying how incredible he is voicing that character. He may have one of the best voices in Hollywood today. This movie was good and I had a great time watching it. That being said, I don’t know if I would watch it again because of the subject matter.

3 ½