Hereafter (2010)

Studio: Warner Brothers

Theatrical Release: October 22, 2010

Blu Ray Release: March 15, 2011

PG-13

Review by James Klein

Director Clint Eastwood and executive producer Steven Spielberg combine their talents and have given us what may be 2010's hidden masterpiece that unfortunately didn't find the right audience when released last fall. Even the silly looking science-fiction themed blu ray cover is completely misguided. Hereafter is closer to a Robert Altman film than a sci-fi film. And once again, Eastwood proves that he is not only one of our best working directors but he also continues to take on projects that might not necessarily be huge blockbusters.

Hereafter is a somber and at times all too serious film about various individuals that have had traumatic experiences, all dealing with death in some form. The movie centers on three characters: George, Marie, and Marcus. George (played by a quiet and subdued Matt Damon) is a reluctant psychic living alone in San Francisco. Although he is genuine, he feels that his gift is a curse and that he cannot live a normal life due to the fact that he can't touch a person without seeing some vision. George tries to runaway from the very gift that could bring peace and comfort to others. Marie is a French journalist who was almost killed in the 2004 Tsunami disaster and can't seem to shake the vision she had of dying. Because of this vision, she cannot continue on with her life. Marcus is a young English boy whose twin brother is killed in a car accident and is forced to live in a foster home away from his alcoholic mother.

What makes the film work is that all three stories are very interesting. This is the problem I have in a lot of anthology films. Once a story or segment becomes enjoyable, it stops and breaks into another story that isn't as interesting, thus making the film feel flat or even worse, gets downright boring. Thankfully, all three stories work and when the three characters do meet near the climax, it doesn't come across as forced or phony.

Writer Peter Morgan's screenplay is tight and thankfully doesn't have a lot of overly talky moments. Hereafter could have gone that way but under the hands of the great Eastwood, the movie is rather quiet and actors can actually act for once and say very little but express their thoughts or feelings by gestures or body language. Hereafter's theme of death and life after death is never scary, hokey, or overly melodramatic. Morgan and Eastwood take the film seriously but they also don't try to tug on our heartstrings either by being overly sentimental. It does ask the viewer: is there an afterlife? Is there more to us once we die? And the brave thing that Hereafter does is that it doesn't answer everything. There is also an underlying theme on loneliness and how it affects others in various ways. George is lonely due to the fact that he can't find love or is afraid to fall in love because of his power. Marie is lonely when her boyfriend and work friends seem to push her away when she can't get her life back to normal. Marcus is lonely because his best and only friend is taken away from him so suddenly. How do we react to death? How do we react to sudden changes in our life? Are we strong enough to move on?

Don't let the blu ray cover fool you. This is not a supernatural film nor is it a sci-fi film. This is a pure human drama that is subtle in everyway. With quiet performances, long takes with not a lot of quick editing, a beautiful but not overbearing score and a thoughtful screenplay, Hereafter works on almost every level. The film may be too sad for some or too boring for others, but in my opinion, this may be Eastwood's best directed film since Million Dollar Baby.