Of late, filmmaker Robert Zemeckis is a confounding figure. The director of such beloved films as the “Back to the Future” series, “Forrest Gump,” “Cast Away,” “Death Becomes Her” and “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” has delivered almost as many duds as hits, if you also take in “The Polar Express,” “Beowulf,” “Welcome to Marwen” and “Pinocchio.” The director is always trying something new, especially with motion-capture technology. Many projects drift into an unappealing uncanny valley. He hasn’t quite nailed it yet.

In his new intergenerational family drama “Here,” based on a 2014 graphic novel by Richard McGuire (expanded from a six-page comic strip published in 1989), the experiment is in the narrative itself, imagining a family history across generations as seen from one point of view. In his work, McGuire used frames within frames to visually represent different time periods going on in the same place in one comic strip panel.

Zemeckis maintains the frames within frames conceit as a transitional flourish in the film version of “Here,” but the narrative is more about jumping around in time while maintaining the fixed point of view. Many inhabit this space, from an Indigenous couple (Joel Oulette and Dannie McCallum) in pre- Colombian times; a young family in the Victorian era (Michelle Dockery and Gwilym Lee) who move into the modest colonial home; to a present-day Black family (Nicholas Pinnock, Nikki Amuka-Bird and Cache Vanderpuye) navigating the COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement.

The movie centers on a family that occupies the house for most of the 20th century — a war veteran, Al (Paul Bettany), and his wife, Rose (Kelly Reilly), and then their son Richard (Tom Hanks) and his wife, Margaret (Robin Wright). Hanks and Wright have been de-aged — we see them for the first time as teens — and no, it does not work.

Sure, the Hanks, Wright and Zemeckis trio makes for the gimmick of a “Forrest Gump” reunion, but why do we have to de- age Tom Hanks when there’s Colin and Truman Hanks? Even Wright has a look-alike daughter, actor Dylan Penn.

The film also has that Gump-ian quality of major historical events lining up with personal stories: Benjamin Franklin (Keith Bartlett) and his son William (Daniel Betts) occupy the manor across the street, hundreds of years before; a pregnancy is announced as the Beatles debut on “The Ed Sullivan Show”; and seemingly everything relevant happens in this living room, including weddings, births and breakups.

The plot surrounding Richard and Margaret is predictable and utterly dull. They get pregnant as teens, move in with his family, he gives up art to get a real job, she wants her own space, etc. Ostensibly, their story is about navigating the ups and downs of life. Ultimately, it turns into a dispiriting tale about two people taking too long to pursue what makes them happy.

Richard and Margaret’s daughter Vanessa (Zsa Zsa Zemeckis) disappears around age 16 and never reappears, which is a shame. The more interesting story isn’t the baby boomer couple, but how their Gen X daughter or Zoomer grandchildren might benefit from generational wealth.

“Here” is about real estate more than anything else, but it doesn’t want to dig into the nuances around that. Property values are just where the mind wanders when the film on screen is treacly and stale.

MPA rating: PG-13 (for thematic material, some suggestive material, brief strong language and smoking)

Running time: 1:44

How to watch: In theaters