The following contains spoilers for Here, now playing in theatersHereThe ending builds on the film’s central themes, concluding the central plot and at the same time expanding on the connective elements that exist in the film’s different eras. The central concept of the film is that the film takes place in a single location, changing the time period and character focus as it jumps between ancient history, the Revolutionary War, the 20th century and beyond. HereThe cast of characters experiences love, pain and everything in between, all within a single space.
Despite the purposefully disjointed elements of the plot, Here has a through line that highlights the qualities shared between people of different perspectives, backgrounds, and goals. The central arch of Here focuses on digitally de-aged Tom Hanks and Robin Wright’s Richard and Margaret, and uses their story to explore universal experiences. These themes give Here the setting for a powerful and ultimately bittersweet conclusion that reinforces the longevity of life, even if specific lives are finite.
Richard and Margaret’s Fate Here, Explained
Most Here Focuses on Richard and Margaret more than anyone else
As main focus Here, Richard and Margaret’s relationship unfolds throughout the film and comes to a bittersweet but loving ending. Played by Tom Hanks in HereThe film’s most consistent plot focuses on Richard’s life, which he spends almost entirely at home. As a teenager, he brings Margaret into the family when she becomes pregnant as a teenager. This confuses the two, as Richard wanted to become an artist while Margaret wanted to study law. This tension persists, even as they raise their daughter Vanessa.
This eventually leads to the pair breaking upspurred on by Margaret’s fiftieth birthday. It’s a bittersweet aspect of the film’s central relationship, leaving Richard alone as he cares for his father and rediscovers his passion for painting. Although the two mend their friendship, it is implied during an impromptu Thanksgiving that the two will never resume their romance. The film ends with Richard and Margaret, now elderly, visiting the house once again, while Richard is in the process of selling it, Richard helping Margaret rediscover some of her memories of her home.
What happened to Al and Rose here
Richard’s parents are important figures in his narrative
Richard’s parents Al and Rose are arguably the second most important couple to be focused on Hereas they combine several scenes, especially in the first act of the film. A soldier returning from World War II, Al is portrayed as a bad-tempered but ultimately good man whose drinking becomes more pronounced. In Richard and Margaret’s story, they serve as a dark contrast to the younger couple. Rose’s feelings that she squandered her chance to become a “good accountant” serves as a warning to Margaret that she eventually subverts by getting a job and leaving Richard.
Al and Rose’s initially loving marriage turns into a calmer, more tense relationship until one holiday when Rose suffers a stroke. This causes a regretful Al to stop drinking and focus more on taking care of her, eventually moving the pair to Florida and leaving the house to Richard. Rose passes away off-screen over the next few years, with a heartbroken Al eventually returning home. His return is one of the final points in Margaret and Richard’s relationship, but the film gives Richard and his father some sweet little closure before Al passes away.
What happens to the other families here?
Here Jumps across multiple periods and settings
Here is largely focused on two generations of the Young family, but also shows several different groups over time. Before the colonization of the land, a Native American couple spent their lives in a space surrounded by nature. Their romance is directly contrasted with the two young couples, with all three men outliving their partners and dealing with loss. The space is later occupied by Benjamin Franklin’s illegitimate son, with the film referencing the real-life drama as a parallel to the tensions between Richard and his father.
Other couples living in the house include John Harter and his wife at the turn of the 20th century, an aviation-obsessed man who passes away during the flu outbreak. There are also the Beekmans, who keep the house after the Harters and enjoy a pleasant relationship before Leo successfully sells his idea for a recliner. The modern family that moves into the house are the Harrises, who serve as a modern contrast to Richard and Margaret’s marriage. All families in Here are directly contrasted against each othergiving the film a thematic line.
How many time periods are there here
Here Changes in half a dozen periods
Throughout HereThere are several time jumps. This allows the film to reflect on the common elements that exist between different eras. In all, there are at least half a dozen periods presented in Here. The oldest is a primordial setting where dinosaurs roam free until an asteroid causes an ice age. As the world heals over the centuries and forests grow where the land was once chaotic, a Native American couple make space their home. The land is later colonized, with the film shifting to the Revolutionary War.
Home owners in Here |
Played by |
The Harter Family (John and Pauline) |
Gwilym Lee and Michelle Dockery |
The Beekmans (Lee and Stella) |
Ophelia Lovibond and David Fynn |
The Young Family (Al & Rose) |
Paul Bettany and Kelly Reilly |
The Young Family (Richard and Margaret) |
Tom Hanks and Robin Wright |
The Harris Family (Devon and Helen) |
Nicholas Pinnock and Nikki Amuka-Bird |
A century later, the land is constantly deforested, shaping the suburban landscape that becomes Heremain configuration. The building was sold to the Harter family in the early 20th century. The house is sold after John’s death, with the Beekmans living in it until the events of World War II. The Youngs then move in, with their passage through the house referencing several important moments in American culture throughout the second half of the 20th century. After Richard grows old and finally sells the house, the story shifts to modern day with the Harris family.
Why does the camera move in Margaret’s final scene?
The final scene of the film focuses on Margaret and Richard in old age
For the most part Herethe story is told from a single space in the room. The camera angle remains the same regardless of focus or setting. As time passes, the camera remains static, at least until the final moments of the film. After returning home to Richard in her old age, while he is selling the house, Margaret struggles to remember her life there. The film heavily implies that she is dealing with Alzheimer’s diseasewhich affects your memory. However, as she tearfully rediscovers some memories, the camera moves and reveals more of the house.
Here is based on the 2014 graphic novel of the same name by Richard McGuire, which uses a similar location-specific focus.
This is an important moment in the film’s narrative, as it moves the audience from the purely spectator position they have spent the entire film in and highlights the very real nature of the house. He brings Margaret and Richard closer together, showing their emotions in a more dramatic way. While Here had a certain inherent removal of the characters thanks to its time jump and static cinematography, Margaret’s final scene allows the camera to move and truly share their overwhelming emotions with the viewer.
Hummingbird meaning here is ending
Seen at various times in history, the hummingbird in Here talks about the central themes of the film and highlights the lasting qualities of nature over time. In the prehistoric era, there is a large fly that flies and barely avoids being crushed by stampeding dinosaurs. Over the centuries, a hummingbird can be seen in the wooded area that ends up being deforested to make way for more houses. The final shot of HereThe end of is another hummingbird, flying through modern suburbia.
This Hummingbird Speaks About Inherent Connections to the Past that exist even when they may not be clear to the human eye. The hummingbird highlights how the world revolves and lives beyond the joys and losses of each family. The hummingbird signifies the continuation of life, implicitly establishing a central theme of the film where life continues even when certain individuals may reach the end of their lives. He talks about one of the film’s central messages, in a discreet way.
The true meaning of the end here
Here is ultimately about the bittersweet threads that connect people across countless generations. Regardless of education, society or purpose in life, the diverse families of Here find joy in love and pain in sadness. Every death in Here it is treated as a tragedy, even if subsequent families have no idea of ​​the loss that happened right where they are. Items like the Native American couple’s wedding necklace, eventually rediscovered in the 20th century, create a symbolic bridge between centuries and cultures.
The meaning of Here is that life and love are wonderful things, even if they are fleeting. Margaret’s frustrations with her life do not diminish the joys she has experienced in it, as can be seen by her admission that she loves the house she always told Richard she wanted to leave. Although individual lives may come and go, people and their experiences still matter. From the Here a powerful yet bittersweet touch as it ends with a reminder that even in the midst of human development, nature continues.