This is an authentic film that pays attention to details. It finds its realism and stays on point. Directed by Ira Sachs, this is a true story that captures every essential aspect of someone telling a story. Peter Hujar’s Day plays out on an intriguing landscape. The cinematography has lighting that fuels the story with rapidly changing structures. It takes viewers on a deep and vivid journey. Overall, Peter Hujar’s Day is purely spectacular thanks to a mesmerizing performance by Ben Whishaw, who wasdestined to play Peter Hujar. It is a film about a long conversation between Peter Hujar and Linda Rosenkrantz in 1974. Rachel Hall plays Linda Rosenkrantz.  New York in the 1970s provides the perfect backdrop for a discussion that goes deep. The spiral of words in this story about the life of Hujar is spellbinding.

The film begins with Linda doing the interview with Peter on a cassette recorder. In the era before digital recording, Peter and Linda have tea and eat meals between takes. Peter continues to go deep about his many moments taking photographs of different people. It is an enlightening experience that makes audiences wonder how artists find their narrative. At the same time, it makes viewers wonder how art is created in an otherwise introverted life. Throughout Peter Hujar’s Day, the story prompted a variety of interconnected thoughts. The performances of Whishaw and Hall are the epitome of grandeur. 

I have had the opportunity to see both Whishaw and Hall in person. I saw Whishaw on stage in London in Waiting for Godotin 2024. I saw Hall on the Red Carpet at the Cannes Film Festival for The BFG in 2016. Watching them both in Peter Hujar’s Day felt natural, because they both display humanistic characteristics in their acting while portraying lead roles in this type of film. Peter Hujar’s Day is a one-of-a-kind movie. Hall is amazing playing the journalist seeking every deep word for her story. Whishaw is wonderful playing the photographer trying to be an open book while telling his story.

Peter Hujar’s Day has the New York art scene written into it right below the surface. The streets and city lights are the backdrop of Peter’s story. As the conversation goes forward, the moments of darkness come in and out of Peter’s mind. The writing of Peter Hujar’s Day carries a narrative that helps audiences appreciate how human minds can weave emotionally up and down, especially when so much energy is given to a craft, and nothing comes of it. Peter Hujar’s Day is a joyful wonder of amazement and a real treasure. It is a little too short though. There could have been more to the story, and the film felt a bit incomplete since it only runs for about seventy-six minutes. Overall, however, that timing is made up for by its artistic brilliance. Three out of four stars.