SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL – Would you believe me if I said one of my favorite films I saw at this year’s festival was just two people talking for 76 minutes? Maybe it’s my soft spot for New York City after living there for much of my formative early adulthood, or maybe I was just drawn to the experimental concept, but “Peter Hujar’s Day” was a striking watch.
Starring Ben Whishaw and Rebecca Hall as the late photographer Peter Hujar and writer Linda Rosenkrantz, the film takes a magnifying glass to the life of an artist in 1970s NYC. Writer and director Ira Sachs took a risk in the creation of “Peter Hujar’s Day” — the concept itself may sound far too simple or boring to keep audiences interested. Yet, post-screening conversations buzzed with satisfaction and awe as people filed out of the packed Broadway Centre during week two of Sundance.
“Peter Hujar’s Day” adapts a real transcribed conversation that took place in Rosenkrantz’s apartment in 1974, which she later used to publish her book of the same name in 2021. Their original recorded conversation is a recounting, based on Hujar’s written notes, of everything he did over the course of 24 hours. The day itself is relatively mundane, but that is exactly the point — this is what it was like to exist day-to-day as a broke artist in NYC during what is often regarded as the city’s most gritty creative era.
Yet, as someone who spent time in NYC, not during the ‘70s but in recent years, the film has a poetic timelessness. I spent the past few years working at an avant-garde theater in the East Village, an artistic space that brushed closely against the world of Hujar and Rosenkrantz. The neighborhood and building have obviously changed since those days, but every so often I’d sift through archival footage or sit on the roof, looking out at the intersection of First Avenue and Ninth Street, and feel an inexplicable connection to the artists who built the downtown art scene; it was as if these gifted people were right there with me.
Watching “Peter Hujar’s Day” evoked the same feeling.
With Hujar’s recounting carrying the majority of the film’s dialogue, Whishaw is challenged to hold viewers’ attention while remaining grounded and subdued in his portrayal. The actor, known mainly for his work in the “Paddington” and “James Bond” movies, is completely immersed in his character. Every word he speaks and every move he makes — down to a longing glance or while fiddling with a random object — is completely human. Hall, while speaking less overall, is equally brilliant. It takes skill to depict a person who is genuinely listening, and Hall captures this intimacy with remarkable ease. Within their conversation are moments of seriousness but also subtly dry humor, mirroring the natural ebb and flow of casual dialogue. In delivery alone, it feels reminiscent of any long talk I’ve had with a close friend.
“Peter Hujar’s Day” lacks a traditional narrative arc — there is no major conflict or climax in the way most films are structured. The characters move from room to room in Rosenkrantz’s apartment, sometimes sitting on the roof or the front stoop. They nibble at pistachios, have a drink, mindlessly pick up an item and place it back down again. Hujar smokes countless cigarettes, a habit that Rosenkrantz wishes he would break, while telling her about his conversations with other notable artists of this time, or the Chinese food he had for dinner. Recognizable names (Susan Sontag, Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, for instance) come up casually in their discussion, creating the sense that I am a fly on the wall eavesdropping on a conversation between two friends. By the end of Hujar and Rosenkrantz’s day together, their platonic, yet deeply intimate comfort is evident. Their physicality — the stroke of an arm or a hand resting gently on a foot — does not feel rehearsed in the slightest. They are purely human.
While the weight of this film rests primarily on the actors’ talent, the visual mood is equally moving. Cinematographer Alex Ashe and the sound design team highlight the everyday beauty in the simplicity of this world. Within the still walls of Rosenkrantz’s apartment, every dancing shadow and glow of the setting sun from the city streets felt painfully familiar. Anyone who has spent any time in NYC will recognize the nagging sound of construction and wailing sirens, dulled by someone closing a window.
Sachs captures the essence of being an artist in a way that is true to the heart of the Sundance Film Festival — which makes sense, considering he grew up frequenting the earliest years of the event. (His father was raised right here in Park City, UT.) Sachs’ past works, such as “Forty Shades of Blue” (2005), have screened at the festival and received numerous accolades. “Peter Hujar’s Day” is a prime example of his dedication to developing impactful stories.
This movie was, in many ways, like watching a play in a black box theatre in the East Village; perhaps that’s why it left me with such a longing ache for that magical city. I fondly recall my earliest days living in NYC when I started theatre school in 2017, simultaneously overwhelmed and inspired by the way art seemed so deeply ingrained in everything around me. If I chose a random day of my own from this time, what would it look like? “Peter Hujar’s Day” reminded me to cherish the mundane.
Peter Hujar died of AIDS in 1987 at the age of 53, after which he became more widely recognized for his talent. A tragic loss that came far too early, this film allows us to spend a day with one of the greatest photographers of his time. “Peter Hujar’s Day” is a beautiful self-portrait of his life, with New York City as the backdrop.