Here is a little film with some big talent behind it. Peter Hujar’s Day is Ira Sachs’s follow up to Passages, which also starred Ben Whishaw. The two are back together to provide not so much a biopic of photographer Peter Hujar, but more like a docudrama dramatization of a conversation he might have had with a friend (Rebecca Hall). He recounts parts of his life that are the most memorable to him, in a near stream of consciousness experience. If Hujar was given more emotionally taxing and bombastic moments, it would be a tour de force for Whishaw, since this film is nearly a 90 minute monologue.

Most of the time, as a blind film critic, watching a film without audio description, I have a lot of barriers. Little plot holes, or questions that put a damper on my experience. Last year, I sat through the Steve Buscemi directed The Listener, which was one of the few narrative features I truly believed could be enjoyed without AD (it has since gained a TTS track). It stars only Tessa Thompson as a crisis hotline operator, and she’s the literal only person on screen. Every other voice is just a caller. It is set just at her apartment, where she spends the entire time talking. Ironically, Rebecca Hall was in that as well.

Here you have another film where there aren’t a ton of gaps for audio description, the cast is limited to two, and most of it is Whishaw talking. I think there would be time for establishing description, and perhaps a few interjections, but there really isn’t a long period of silence. They don’t change time periods, locations, or anything, so there aren’t wardrobe choices.It would just be to establish what they look like, the room they are in, and their facial reactions at certain times.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of Passages, but Whishaw was my favorite part in the film. I also really did like him here, but his Awards chances are limited because it is such a subtle, internal performance. Often people vote for the big showy roles, and Whishaw never goes too far, or too big. It feels very much like a conversation with a friend on a quiet autumn day, nice weather, and plenty of time to catch up.

Audiences broadly might not love a film like this, because nothing goes boom, and I’m sure to some it somehow feels slow because the limitations of the film are to this specific conversation in time. But for people who enjoy movies like this, Peter Hujar’s Day will work for them. And for fans of the artist, it might be the closest to film centered on him you’ll get. Not everyone gets a biopic of any kind, and this year someone saw it fit to tell this story.

It is in limited release now, and I doubt it ever goes truly nationwide. Your best bet to check this out will likely be at home if you live outside of a major metropolitan area, and if you’re blind, I’d never suggest spending money on something with no accessibility. I would, however, recommend this if it ends up on something you already are subscribing to. Don’t just avoid it because it doesn’t have audio description. It is a very simple conversation between two friends, and I feel like you’ve seen similar interviews, and YouTube videos of that nature that have no AD. This is just a more cinematic version of that, and not a straight documentary or non-fiction work.

Ben Whishaw’s thoughtful performance makes Peter Hujar’s Day worth the while.

Fresh: Final Grade: 7.0/10