Movie Review: Hereafter

Hereafter – A Warner Bros. Release

http://hereafter.warnerbros.com/

Release Date: October 15th, 2010 (Los Angeles, New York City, and Toronto)

October 20th, 2010 (Chicago, and San Francisco)

October 22nd, 2010 (wide)

Rated PG for mature theme.

Running time: 129 minutes

Clint Eastwood (dir.)

Peter Morgan (screenplay)

Clint Eastwood (music)

Matt Damon as George Lonegan

Cécile De France as Marie LeLay

Frankie McLaren as Marcus/Jason

George McLaren as Marcus/Jason

(L-r) MATT DAMON as George Lonegan and JAY MOHR as Billy in Warner Bros. Pictures’ drama HEREAFTER.

Our reviews below:

___________________________________________________________________________

Hereafter Review By John C.

*** (out of 4)

In the opening scenes of Clint Eastwood’s Hereafter, we watch as French journalist Marie LeLay (Cecile De France) is swept up by a tsunami in Sri Lanka. This largely overblown set-piece makes it clear that this haunting human drama is going to be quite unlike anything we’ve ever seen from Eastwood.

The story is then moved to the US where we are introduced to George Lonegan (Matt Damon) a once-famous psychic who feels his powers to contact the dead are more a curse then a blessing. We are then introduced to two brothers in England, Marcus & Jason (Frankie & George McLaren), who end up separated by a tragedy. These two-thirds of the plot are also some of the most interesting.

We are shown little of the characters lives before we join their story, all we see is that each one has been touched by death in one way or another. The stories intercept with each other, but are connected the way all of us in life are connected. They are connected by shared experiences, and are ultimately destined to come together at a certain point.

The film asks questions about the afterlife ponderingly – never urgently – perhaps the way we would wonder about the hereafter as we go about our post-tragedy lives. It does ask these questions, but it also lets us come to our own answers and doesn’t alienate preexisting beliefs. The afterlife is shown in brief flashes with bright lights and glowing bodies, the way it has been universally described by those who have had near-death experiences.

The film starts on a needlessly large scale with the natural disaster set-piece, so some audiences will find the quiet tone of the rest of the movie to feel anti-climactic. The film does take its time, but we watch the events unfold with curiosity and sadness. In the end, Hereafter is a thoughtful, intelligent, character-driven drama that contemplates its questions with sincerity and believability. This latest directorial offering from Clint Eastwood will leave mature audiences with a lot to like.

___________________________________________________________________________

Hereafter Review By Erin V.

*** (out of 4)

Clint Eastwood’s Hereafter follows three people who’ve been touched by death. A woman from Paris who survived a tsunami, a young boy in London who loses his twin brother, and a man in San Francisco who after an illness as a child, can connect with the spirits of people who have died, by touching the hands of their loved ones still here.

We first meet Marie LeLay (Cecile DeFrance), nearly drowning in a tsunami that looks like it came out of a disaster movie. I personally found the amount of time they spent on this part, felt a bit out of place with the tone of the rest of the movie, since it is mainly a low-key drama. It was more of a set-piece than anything else, since the point could have been established quicker. Actually, of all the stories, it was Marie’s that I found took too much of the running time, and wasn’t as connecting as the other ones. And although it didn’t really bother me, I also think some moviegoers will be deterred by the fact that her parts are mostly all French with subtitles.

Next, we are taken to the US, where we meet Matt Damon’s character, George Lonegan. His brother wants him to use his ‘gift’ to help people who are grieving, although he just wants to live a more normal life, which he tries to do by working at a factory and taking cooking classes.

Then, we are brought to London, where two twin boys live with their mother, who is addicted to drugs. They rely heavily on each other, but when tragedy separates them, one twin goes on a search to try to connect with his brother.

By the time the stories all manage to come together, (and the execution of this is quite well done), the film felt a little long. It was a fine movie, but by no means would I call it a real Oscar contender. With an interesting premise, Hereafter is a slightly uneven, yet oddly believable drama, that handles it’s questions and ideas well.

___________________________________________________________________________

Hereafter Review By Nicole

***1/4 (out of 4)

Hereafter is an interesting film about life, death, loss, and love. Three people in three different countries, have one thing in common. They have all been touched by death, either by losing someone very close, or nearly losing their own life. The film begins at a quiet beach, where Marie, a French news anchor is on vacation. Suddenly, a tsunami wave rolls in, flooding the streets, carrying Marie away. She survives, but only after Marie has a mysterious near death experience.

The next character introduced is George (Matt Damon), a factory worker in San Francisco who, after a brain infection as a child, has the psychic ability to connect with the souls of the deceased, simply by holding a grieving person’s hand. George doesn’t see this ability as a gift, but as a curse. Though previously a well regarded psychic, he has now abandoned that job. Until one day, when a series of events call him back.

The third story takes place in England. Two twin boys, Marcus and Jason, live with their alcoholic mother. The brothers take care of Mum, making sure the Children’s Aid doesn’t take them away from her. Until one fateful day, when Jason is hit and killed by a truck. Marcus, now in foster care, searches tirelessly to find a psychic who can talk to Jason.

The three stories come together nicely in the end. (At first, the sequence of some of the major events seemed out of place, until I realized the film is a fractured narrative.)

Although the special effects at the beginning were not quite realistic enough, I found Hereafter to be a heartfelt and believable film. I really liked the fact that, the characters psychic abilities in the film are portrayed as natural, neurological differences, as opposed to magical abilities. In one scene, George recalls that, as a kid, his psychic ability was mistaken for psychosis, and medication was prescribed.

Hereafter raises a lot of interesting questions about spirituality, without turning into a lecture. With decent acting, a quiet score, a low key pace, and a lot of heart, Hereafter is worth checking out.

___________________________________________________________________________

Hereafter Review By Maureen

*** (out of 4)

The question ‘what happens after death?’ intrigues a lot of people. Hereafter is a well-written, interesting drama about three very different people who are touched by the experience of death.

Marie (Cecile De France) is a French woman who has a near-death experience during a tsunami at a beach resort. When she returns to France to her life as a journalist Marie finds herself unable to focus on work anymore. Her new focus be comes a search to understand if others have had similar experiences.

George Lonegan (Matt Damon) lives alone in San Francisco. George worked for years as a psychic helping others reconnect with loved ones who have passed on. Overwhelmed by the gift he now considers a curse George works in a factory and tries to avoid being coerced to do psychic connections.

Jason and Marcus are identical twin 11 year old boys living in England with their drug and alcohol addicted mother. When Jason is killed on a medication-run for their mum, Marcus is devastated. Marcus would do anything to talk to Jason one more time.

The movie weaves back and forth between the three storylines. We see how each of the characters’ lives change as a result of their experiences. Marie researches and writers a book about her experience leaving her old life and love behind. In one of the lighter moments in the movie, George takes a Italian cooking class and begins to form a friendship with his pretty cooking partner, Melanie (Bryce Dallas Howard). Back in England Marcus is sent to a foster home. He has trouble settling in, convinced that he has to find a way to talk to Jason, even if it means visiting questionable psychics.

The character development in the three separate storylines is nicely done. Each of the characters are sincere and believable. The transition between each of the storylines is seamless and the overlap of storylines that takes place in England during the final act works really well. The closure that Marie, George and Marcus bring to each other’s lives makes sense. The ending is quietly sweet.

While Hereafter drags a little at times, especially in the France segments which are all subtitled, the story is well written and comes together nicely at the end. The acting is solid and believable all around. Matt Damon as he usually does, delivers a sincere and flawless performance. The cinematography is nicely done. There is a serene sense in many of the shots. The minimalist music by Clint Eastwood himself adds to the low-key, thoughtful tone of the movie.

Hereafter doesn’t try to hit the viewer over the head with answers about an afterlife. Rather it lets an interesting, quiet story speak for itself. This directorial effort by Clint Eastwood is worth checking out.

___________________________________________________________________________

Hereafter Review By Tony

*** (out of 4)

George Lonegan (Matt Damon) regards his ability to transmit messages from the afterlife as a curse rather than a gift. A successful career doing spiritual readings left him emotionally drained with no hope of a normal life, so he took a simple factory job, but once laid off he would have to start up again. Marie LeLay (Cécile De France), a successful interviewer for a French public affairs program, loses all credibility with her skeptical French public when she writes about her own near death experience in a tsunami. Jason and Marcus (McLaren twins) were twin sons of a single drug-addicted mother. After Jason is killed in a road accident Marcus is sent to foster parents while his mother is in rehab. By a plausible coincidence, the lives of George, Marie and Marcus come together at the London Book Fair.

Over its length of just over two hours, Hereafter quietly gives its characters time to develop, while fine editing keeps it moving. The principals and supporting cast including Jay Mohr, Bryce Dallas Howard, Thierry Neuvic, and Marthe Keller are all excellent. The atmospheric musical score by director Clint Eastwood makes good use of a recurring theme from the slow movement introduction of the Rachmaninov second piano concerto. By proposing the existence of an afterlife without appeal to any particular religious tradition, Hereafter should appeal to a wide audience, though its lack to date of a French distributor suggests to me, as the film does, that in France existentialism is still alive and well, so that any suggestion of “au delà” (an afterlife) is just not cool.

___________________________________________________________________________

Consensus: Hereafter is an interesting and thoughtful film with good performances, that handles its questions well. Although imperfect, this latest drama from director Clint Eastwood should leave audiences satisfied. *** (Out of 4)