Direction: Ira Sachs
Country: USA
Based on Linda Rosenkrantz’s book drawn from a 1974 interview she conducted with photographer Peter Hujar in her apartment, Peter Hujar’s Day recounts not only his activities during the previous day in New York but also sheds light on his inner life, emotions, and temperament. This chatty, experimental two-hander heightens intimacy between interviewer and subject, buoyed by finely attuned performances from Ben Whishaw and Rebecca Hall. Through dialogue alone, it vividly evokes the energy of New York City’s 1970s art scene.
Ira Sachs—known for films such as Love Is Strange (2014), Little Men (2016), and Passages (2023)—approaches the material with an informal, almost documentary-like directness. Yet, Peter Hujar’s Day doesn’t crackle with overt excitement and often seems content simply to invoke figures like Allen Ginsberg, Fran Lebowitz, Susan Sontag, and Peter Orlovsky. Whether that is enough depends largely on the viewer’s mood and their interest in the subject matter.
Set entirely within a confined space, the film nonetheless allows for a few subtle surprises to emerge from its corners. Ultimately, it is Whishaw and Hall who hold everything together, giving the dialogue its weight, rhythm, and emotional grounding.
