Cinema Verdict Review: Hereafter

Hereafter

OPENING: 10/22/2010

STUDIO: Warner Bros.

RUN TIME: 129 min

ACCOMPLICES:
Trailer, Official Site

The Charge
Hereafter is a quietly moving film.
Opening Statement
For director Clint Eastwood and writer Peter Morgan, Hereafter represents a surprising change of pace. Eastwood has traditionally steered clear of fantasy, while Morgan’s filmography is dominated by talky, witty political dramas like The Queen and Frost/Nixon. Though it feels a bit different from anything either man has done before (particularly Morgan), Hereafter is a quietly moving film.

Facts of the Case
The film tells the story of three different individuals living in different parts of the world. The first is Marie (Cecile De France, Around the World in 80 Days), an esteemed French reporter who is nearly killed on her vacation when a tidal wave strikes. The near-death experience affects Marie in a strange way, as she’s certain she witnessed a glimpse of the afterlife during the brief time in which she was unconscious.

The second person is George (Matt Damon, The Bourne Identity), a man who just so happens to have psychic powers. He used these powers to make a living, but he retired after the burden of dealing with the pain of others became too much for him to handle. These days, he works at a factory in San Francisco and takes cooking lessons at night. In his cooking class, he meets a girl named Melanie (Bryce Dallas Howard, Lady in the Water) who seems to have eyes for him. George likes her, but wonders whether a normal relationship is even possible given his psychic abilities.

Finally, we meet Marcus, a 12-year-old British boy attempting to cope with the death of his twin brother Jason. After his mother is forced into rehab, Marcus is placed in a foster home and forced to start a new life. Determined to make contact with his brother from beyond the grave, Marcus runs away and visits a series of psychics, hoping one of them will be able to help him make contact (Frankie & George McLaren take turns playing each of the brothers).

The Evidence
I’m in a bit of a dilemma. I want to recommend Hereafter and tell you that it’s a rewarding experience, but I’ve just witnessed a good deal of evidence to the contrary. About 30 minutes into the film, the two elderly women sitting next to me got up and left. “This is one of the most boring movies I’ve ever seen,” one of them complained. Okay, so they didn’t like it. Every film has its detractors, I guess. Two more people fell asleep during the movie, snoring loudly at times. Finally, when the film ended, the majority of the audience let forth a general burst of displeasure. “Well, I wasted my seven dollars,” one man said. “You got that right,” another person laughed. “That was so stupid,” another pitched in. “ I can’t believe Clint Eastwood made that crap.” And yet there I sat, watching the end credits and reflecting on how much the film had moved me.

Hereafter is being promoted as some sort of supernatural thriller starring Matt Damon, when in fact it’s a subdued drama with an ensemble cast that includes Matt Damon. What matters is that it’s a good film; a drama that tackles the realm of the supernatural in an intelligent and thoughtful manner. The only thing it requires you to accept is that George is a real psychic with a real gift for helping people make connections with lost loved ones. Everything else will be informed by what you bring to the table beforehand.

Obviously, the world is full of many different religions and belief systems, with a wide variety of views on what (if anything) awaits us beyond the grave. Regardless of other religious specificities, the idea that there is still some form of life after we pass on is universal. It’s been said that if there were no afterlife, humanity would need to invent one. Likewise, if there is no afterlife, humanity has invented one. It dulls the ache of losing a loved one to think that they’re still out there somewhere, in a peaceful place free of pain. Hereafter is not out to declare that there is an afterlife that we can all look forward to (what visions of it we do see are purposefully non-descript), but rather to explore humanity’s fundamental need for its existence through the lives of three people.

All three of the film’s central characters have a particular interest in what happens after we die. George seems to witness the afterlife through other people, Marie seems to have been there and Marcus desperately wants to know if it even exists. All of their stories are affecting in different ways, as Eastwood and Morgan explore heartache from a series of compelling angles. George’s story in particular plays like a superhero tale too melancholy for comic books, as his psychic abilities (only activated when he touches someone else) have historically destroyed his attempts at personal relationships.

Closing Statement
The film offers three intersecting stories, but they collide in a manner that’s refreshingly natural and low-key (as opposed to the Rube Goldberg-esque mechanics of something like Crash or Babel). Morgan’s writing is full of buried feelings and unspoken sentiments, while Eastwood’s direction has rarely been so graceful (recall his work in The Bridges of Madison County and you’ll have an idea of the lovely tone he attains in this film). I suppose its subdued, poetic nature will disappoint those looking for something sensationalistic (I don’t know what the people at my screening thought they were getting, but they definitely didn’t get it), but I urge you to set aside any false expectations and simply accept the film for what it is. Hereafter is worth the effort.

The Verdict
9/10