HEREAFTER
(Rate PG-13)
A drama centered on three people who are haunted by mortality in different ways. George is a blue-collar American who has a special connection to the afterlife. On the other side of the world, Marie, a French journalist, has a near-death experience that shakes her reality. And when Marcus, a London schoolboy, loses the person closest to him, he desperately needs answers. Each on a path in search of the truth, their lives will interset, forever changed by what they believe might-or must-exist in the hereafter.
In the beginning of the movie, we separately watch the lives of three characters, each uniquely dealing with death. George, played by Matt Damon, a psychic that can speak to the dead-who at one time was a former commercial success but leaves his unique gift behind to pursue a normal life; Marie, a French journalist who has a near death experience when she survives a natural catastrophe while on vacation but is unable to come back to work in light of her visions, and Marcus, a young English boy dealing with the sudden loss of a loved one while suffering due to the deterioration of his heroine addicted mother. Each plagued by their own complications and each searching for resolution.
It is not until the last fifteen minutes of the almost129 minutes of the movie, do the characters cross paths and find solace in each persons torments. Yet at this point, I felt it was anti-climatic and had wished they would have arrived here earlier in the film.
For the majority of the movie, each story seems to move along... slowly. Though we understand it is crucial to understand each characters inner demons, I felt that these stories could have been edited down, so that we could get to the heart of the matter-how each character will ultimately benefit from the other. But as I stated, they do not cross paths till the very end and then we are suddenly hit with the credits. End of film.
I suppose it is left to the imagination and ultimately the point is not where they will go from there, but that they were able to reach it to begin with.
In the end, I felt disconnected with the characters (though the young boys story was very sad) and wished the movie had sped up to the ending a little quicker, continuing from that point forward.
I liked the film, I just didn’t love it.
Hereafter opens nationwide this Friday, October 22nd.
Cast and Credits:
Director-Clint Eastwood
Matt Damon-George
Jay Mohr-Billy
Cecile De France-Marie Lelay
Frankie and George McLaren-Marcus and Jason
2 comments:
This movie will be a definite rental for me! Thanks for the review!
TT-I feel it is a definite movie rental as well.
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