Things you buy through our links may earn Vox Media a commission. Can a doodle also be a masterpiece? Consisting of a conversation between two people in a West Village apartment, filmed austerely but evocatively, the picture revels in its spareness, its warm simplicity. It starts off as an elevation of the quotidian but transforms into something sadder and more reflective.
The film is a re-creation of an interview that happened on December 19, , between the renowned photographer Hujar Ben Whishaw and his friend, the journalist Linda Rosenkrantz Rebecca Hall , who intended their conversation to be part of a book about how different people spent their day. Much of what he talks about is a shoot he was assigned to do with the poet Allen Ginsberg.
As the two talk, they move around different parts of the apartment. They make coffee, they drink tea and eat cookies. They stand outside. They lounge in bed. The light changes. Their outfits change. A shaft of sunlight might hit Hujar in an odd way, the warm glow of a sunset might reflect off a surface. Distant sounds from the street drift in.
Whishaw obviously has to do most of the heavy lifting, dialogue-wise, but Hall is his equal in the way she uses her silences. Her adoration of Hujar comes through, as well as her ease around him. The Ginsberg shoot, he says, is his first job for the New York Times.
So loss is, in a way, built into the very concept of the film. The intimacy draws us in, as if we might know these people. So, no, the film is maybe not a doodle. But it is a masterpiece. This email will be used to sign into all New York sites. By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive email correspondence from us. Account Profile. Sign Out. Photo: Sundance Institute. Tags: vulture homepage lede vulture section lede sundance sundance film festival movie review movies review ira sachs ben whishaw rebecca hall peter hujar's day More.
