Rebecca Hall On the Importance of Listening for ‘Peter Hujar’s Day’ [Podcast]

Two people sitting alone in a room talking is the basic premise of Ira Sachs’ marvelous new drama, Peter Hujar’s Day. Some contemporary audiences might not be used to such a simple concept, but the performances from Ben Whishaw and Rebecca Hall (and Sachs’ direction) are an exercise in how communication can be balanced by nuanced listening. Wouldn’t you just die to have Rebecca Hall listen to you speak about your day?

Would you be able to take in someone speaking about their day like Hall does as Linda Rosenkrantz? The famed journalist wanted to capture an ordinary day in the life of an artist in New York City in 1974, and it’s surreal to hear Whishaw’s Hujar casually mention names like Susan Sontag, Allen Ginsburg, and William S. Burroughs. Without seeing any of these other people, Sachs’ writing allows these titans of the literary and artistic worlds to become everyday people again. Sachs’ film is not a biopic as much as a sliver of time in the life of two friends and two people creating something wholly unique with one another.

Hall has always brought a bold intelligence to all of her characters, but because Sachs’ script requests her to listen so much, you are drawn in by how her Linda observes and absorbs Peter’s words. She almost instructs the audience how to take in information. As the camera initially spends so much time on Whishaw, Linda primarily asks questions in response to color Peter’s stories more deeply before the interview settles evolves into a conversation between two friends. At one point, Peter asks Linda how much tape is left and suggests that he is worried that what they are doing isn’t good. ‘It’s all good,’ she says. ‘No, you’re not boring me.’ It’s a line that could be seen as comforting a friend, but she’s also working as a journalist.

After we talk about Hall adjusting her voice to sit further back in her register, we discuss how her physicality becomes more relaxed as the day wanes into night. Because she loves the era so much, it was easy and exciting for her to research and settle into this period. I originally wondered if Linda was concerned if Peter was telling her the truth about his day, and then I thought…would it matter? While Whishaw spiritedly takes the opportunity to expel so much information, it’s entirely thrilling to see how Hall consumes it and volleys back. We are so steeped in our own media and image that something like Peter Hujar’s Day is a breath of fresh air.

Rebecca Hall is so luminous that she almost doesn’t have to say a word.

Click here to listen!

Podcast Music:
Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com
Track: Here We Go! by cinematic alex
https://tunetank.com/track/802-here-we-go/