If you could imagine a day in the life of an artist, what would it look like? Maybe you’d think about where they find inspiration, or what type of creative endeavors fills up their days. Maybe you’d think that they find fulfillment more easily than other people. But “Peter Hujar’s Day,” the new film from Ira Sachs, posits that artists’ days are not so different from our own. They worry about money, they worry about their choices, they experience insecurity and anxiety. And most importantly, they b*tch about it to their closest friends.
Peter Hujar (Ben Whishaw in the film) was a queer American photographer who, while now well-known, didn’t receive widespread acclaim until after his death in 1987 (he passed away from complications due to AIDS). Sachs’ film is based on an interview that Peter’s friend, the writer Linda Rosenkrantz (Rebecca Hall), did with him in December 1974 for a book she was working on about a day in the lives of different artists that she knew.
Based on that description alone, you might think that “Peter Hujar’s Day” would make for a slight film, but Sachs has a knack for elevating his films with intimate visuals and stellar design, and this film is no exception. Sachs takes a simple story about the minutiae of being a living, breathing, working artist and gives it a cinematic edge. The added touch of the warmth of the friendship between Peter and Linda is just icing on the cake.
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Sachs has always had an eye for design, and given that “Peter Hujar’s Day” takes place all in one apartment, that design element is paramount to holding the audience’s interest. The first time we see Peter, he’s seated against a backdrop of dark green, a slanted wall just over his shoulder. The room is angular, yet cozy, adding an even deeper sense of intimacy to the relationship between the two characters. Linda and Peter are always within spitting distance of each other – the kitchen sits a level below the living room and looks out over said living room, putting her eye level with Peter on the couch while she makes him a snack (she’s constantly feeding him, at one point ribbing him about not eating enough – a little like a mother hen).
What’s most interesting about “Peter Hujar’s Day” is also what’s most relatable. Whishaw is delightfully dry as a man coming to terms with the idea that maybe he’s not as unproductive as he thinks. As he moves through his day with Linda, it’s clear he doesn’t think he got much done (at one point, he mentions that he took two naps, and then off-handedly chastises himself because that’s probably too many for one day). But, in one of the film’s best scenes, Peter suddenly stops answering Linda’s questions and remarks how shocked he is at all of his activity. If she had just asked him what he did yesterday, he would have said nothing. But the act of having to explain it all, minute by minute, shows him just how wrong that is.
And who hasn’t felt like that? Who hasn’t come to the end of a day absolutely exhausted, but feeling like you’ve accomplished nothing? This might be what being an artist is all about, but it’s also what being a human being is all about. Peter’s at ease with Linda, able to be honest with her about his triumphs, about his failures – even about when he’s not being honest (they both intermittently call him out for lying about something. He always quickly acquiesces). The friendship between them will feel familiar to anyone who has complained about a colleague, or shared a laugh over a cigarette, or confessed to feelings of inadequacy.
“Peter Hujar’s Day” is a beautiful movie to behold, and not just because of that authentically 1970s style, or the witty and loving connection between Peter and Linda. As the film rolls along, you begin to realize you’re watching a movie not just about the act of creation, in all its banality and glory, but about the simple act of being alive. To my mind, there is something immensely cathartic about demystifying that artistic endeavor. Artists are human too, after all.