Death consumes all life, whether living or dead. Loved ones are torn from us, causing us to question the realms of reality and wonder if there is a hereafter for life. Others have developed a connection to those gone, leaving the majority of humans to label these sorts of connections as “gifts”. Most would argue that knowing everything about someone the moment you meet them would be great, dissolving any awkwardness, and letting your true self to open expressively. Yet that is not always the case, as Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby, Dirty Harry) shows through his next great movie gem, Hereafter.
In Hereafter, Eastwood links together three subplot into one main storyline, leaving an overwhelming amount of movie depth. All three subplots are about those haunted from mortality. The first story is about Marie Lelay (Cecile de France, High Tension), a very famous French journalist and news anchor. While vacationing in Thailand, a tsunami hits, causing mass chaos and panic. Lelay is overcome by the powerful waves, hits her head and drowns to death. She finds herself surrounded in an area of openness and shadows, all in an almost peaceful calm. But she is then ripped back to reality when some survivors use CPR to bring her back to life. When back in France, Lelay cannot overcome her experiences, which starts to reflect on her work. She finally becomes so consumed with the possibility of a hereafter that her successful, money-filled life derails itself into a fiery inferno.
The next story is about two twins brothers in England, Marcus and Jason (Frankie and George McLaren), both of whom live with their drug-abusing, alcoholic mother. After Jason dies in an accident, Marcus is left to fend against the world by himself. Soon after, another shattering blow shakes Marcus’ world as his mother is admitted into rehab, causing him to enter foster care. Yet Marcus cannot comprehend that his brother is gone and becomes obsessed with trying to find a psychic to contact his lost sibling.
Finally, the last story is about George Lonegan (Matt Damon, The Departed), a psychic who has repeatedly tried to renounce his ability to contact the dead. After having an illness as a child which required neurosurgery, Lonegan has developed the ability to connect to those that have left us by touching the hands of people. Yet Lonegan refers to his “powers” as not a gift, but a curse. While his older brother Billy (Jay Mohr, Jerry Maguire) pushes George into helping others connect to those gone, George cannot escape the fact that while he has this ability, he cannot live a normal life. This comes to a point when he grows feeling for his cooking class partner Melanie (Bryce Dallas Howard, The Village), which is then shattered when she persuades George to give her a reading, delving far into her traumatic childhood. George is then left to drown in his depression.
Eastwood, who is the mastermind behind other great movies such as Gran Torino (2008) and Million Dollar Baby (2004) and has in the past reflected natural human emotions superbly on film, has yet again left an awestruck audience. The way he portraits characters as the average person, fighting the daily struggle between sanity and insanity, has to be applauded. This film does, however, veer off from the action packed movies Eastwood has always excelled in, leaving in its wake the always present depressing undertone of his films. And with a cast full of European film stars, besides Matt Damon, he leads an admirable change from the overused -dare I say, nauseating- American film faces we are used too to the use of new faces that have never before been across an American film screen. Although, Eastwood was not able to creatively link all three subplots into one smooth, moving film. This often creates confusion for the audience, leaping from one to story to another without an sense of a smooth transition. This lack of collaboration leads to the rather disappointing and lame climax of the film, which ties all three stories together.
Matt Damon was, as always, magnificent. The way he portrayed a man whose life choose him and not the other way around leaves a sensible blow on the audience. Cecile de France had a grace only the French could have on screen. In her first American film since Disney’s Around the World in 80 Days (2004), de France has re-sparked a use of European film stars that other directors should consider. Yet the acting that blew the limits of my mental capacity was that of twins George and Frankie McLaren. Both twins, who took turns playing Marcus after the character Jason had died, were astounding. Considering that this was there first dip into acting, they have to be glorified. Great things should be expected to come from this duo, achievements that could rival the Phelps twins from Harry Potter. Nonetheless, one actor that failed to show as if he was taking the film seriously was Jay Mohr. Granted that Mohr is a comedian does not compensate for the fact that his facial expression’s were far off from the mood of the film. With off beat expressions and glazed over eyes, the audience receives a feeling that Mohr doesn’t even want to be in front of the camera at that moment.
Despite a sub-par linkage of the three stories, Hereafter was still very good. Slow at times, dragging out some commentary as one would drag out an argument, this is not a movie for action lovers. The films scale tips heavily to a more psychological genre. A fresh script and cast, a superb director, and an excellent run time of only 129 minutes, the American average, Hereafter has only added to the repertoire of Clint Eastwood. Plus, having a mental twist on things, many audience members are left wondering if death will affect them the same as the characters of the film. The question is not if, it’s when.
3 stars of out 4
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