It's not that I thought the movie would be the best I'd ever seen or anything like that, but coming from such high-caliber talent as Matt Damon and Clint Eastwood, I guess I just expected more. A coincidence never is. I hope this fashion ends quickly. From the same man who first started acting in pictures and later directing them ("The Outlaw Josey Wales," "Unforgiven," "Million Dollar Baby," "Gran Torino," "Changeling", amongst others) comes a film that is as great as anything he had done yet. Hereafter is penned by Peter Morgan, who was inspired to look at the impact of and around death after losing a close friend in an accident. 7) When you die, you see a bunch of fuzzy figures- might be people, might be aliens, who knows? What a waste of studio money. Marie, the newsreader, is played by Cecile de France in such a fresh and likable way that our sympathy is engaged and we understand that whatever happened to her in the first terrifying scene has fundamentally changed her. Is it likely? This is truly an enjoyable movie and adds to my belief that the greatness of a film is not in the critic's eyes but in your own. Clint Eastwood's "Hereafter" considers the idea of an afterlife with tenderness, beauty and a gentle tact. privodjesnkeria. This is the second sleeper movie of the week for me. by Paul Daza Jan 20, 2011. The style and structure of storytelling used in Hereafter will not appeal to a large audience, but something tells me he knew this all too well but honestly, didn't care and rightfully so. As much as I loved that great picture, it'll have to settle for second-place on my top five of the year list, right behind Clint Eastwood's "Hereafter." There are terrifying events, but Eastwood handles them not for sensation but to show how close we all are, at any moment, to oblivion. The first quarter of the film is riveting, compelling, jaw dropping. The movie is an original screenplay by Peter Morgan; "The Queen" (2006). The new Clint Eastwood thriller is a very different film from what its trailer promises, says SPOT.ph movie reviewer Paul Daza. And this Hereafter trip into dead territory and death's kingdom is one more provocation right in our faces. How could he? Make no mistake, director Clint Eastwood is a Hollywood powerhouse and also one of the most consistently fine filmmakers working today. HEREAFTER is compelling enough to stick with you long after you watch it. This is a much more thoughtful film about death that examines how living characters deal with the aftereffects. 4:56. No real thrills. I don't believe in woo-woo, but then neither, I suspect, does Eastwood. The "after" part. Bryce Dallas Howard makes a bizarre contribution to the film. Hereafter. Specially the children. I recognized the face but I couldn't put a name to it. He brings nothing from beyond the grave that his clients could not have formed in their living minds. I was surprised to find it enthralling. Clint Eastwood puts his signature stamp on the direction, with a beautifully shot movie and realistic effects. Clint Eastwood's Hereafter opens with the most exciting, expertly assembled flood scene in movie history. No revelations or truths revealed in a new manner...$50 million to produce. that was shown. | "Hereafter" was a major disappointment for me. In the case of Marie, she undergoes the near death experience we often hear reported, with the white light and the figures. 10/28/2010 . Damon and Howard only have a few scenes together, but those scenes are the only time when it feels like the movie has a heartbeat. Movie title: Hereafter: Release year: 2010: MPAA Rating: PG-13: Our rating: Summary: Clint Eastwood's somber meditation on life after death is every bit as ponderous as you'd expect. We don't spend really any time in the afterlife except the short glimpses near the start. FAQ But with the only other major release this weekend being Paranormal Activity 2 (the original of which scared the living daylights out of me), I opted for something a little tamer. They lack the certainty to impose themselves. I am proud of Mr. Eastwood and happy for the audience when I report that "Hereafter" is now frontrunner as the best movie of 2010. The best part of Hereafter? In this story Clint Eastwood and Peter Morgan invites us to contemplate a different perspective. George in particular is reserved and sad, because his power has become a burden to him. I loved the movie. The story centers on Matt Damon, an American, who apparently has the psychic ability of contacting the recently departed, however, he believes that this "gift" is a "curse" because it renders him a social outcast. 2) Clint Eastwood should not ponder the Hereafter...ever again. I don't believe in woo-woo, but then neither, I suspect, does Eastwood. The punishment hypocrites await in this world is very small when compared to the one they will be given in the Hereafter. I went in thinking it would be something a bit spooky, or mind-bending like "Inception". Hereafter shows you why. The viewer doesn't know quite what to expect when sitting down to watch "Hereafter". 10) I should have gone and seen Jackass 3-D. As a produced screenwriter, I read a lot of scripts. The American movie Hereafter hit the screens in 2010. Like monsieur Didier (Thierry Neuvic), I think that the "lights go out" and "there's nothing else". The three main characters each have felt death's power in different ways in their life. Yes, it is told out of sequence, but not as a gimmick: In a way, Egoyan has constructed this film in the simplest possible way. Is this possible? An emotional film (bring some hankies) exploring the love of children for their mother, the loss of a loved one, and the near-death experiences of the two main characters. Yes. Would movie goers recommend Hereafter to friends? Nothing scary in this movie. Then it crashes on shore and pours through the town. Are people in such a state already dead, or are they experiencing visions generated by the human mind in its final shutdown mode? Sometime that's a good thing but some others, like here and "Changeling" it is clear that more direction of actors was needed. Nothing that rises to the level of real drama. | Greetings again from the darkness. This is a film about the afterlife that carefully avoids committing itself on such a possibility. The way his gift affects their relationship is stark and poignant. I wish I had been psychic, so I would've known this movie would suck... 10 Things I Learned from Watching "Hereafter", I cannot possibly do this case study of master storytelling justice simply by writing about it, but I shall try my best, A Symphonic Cinematic Masterpiece that touches the soul, No human can say what's awaiting us after we die. The Hereafter Movie Trailer has premiered.Hereafter (2010) is directed by Clint Eastwood and stars Bryce Dallas Howard, Lyndsey Marshal, Jay Mohr, Matt Damon, Cécile de … Synopsis: Three people — a blue-collar American, a French journalist and a London school boy — are touched by death in different ways. Incorporates a little wording from my blog entry from the Toronto film festival premiere. Frankie McLaren, as the solemn and earnest little boy seeking his dead twin, takes a character that could have been bathetic and makes him simple and transparent. George (Damon) is a blue-collar American who has a special connection to the afterlife. Review. Clint Eastwood likes to make his films slow paced and this can be annoying at times. 5) Charles Dickens, when narrated by an old English gentleman, can put you to sleep ALMOST as quickly as this movie. Is Hereafter OK for your child? I'm far too aware of his "acting" I have the feeling that Eastwood hires his actor and lets them to their own devices. The appearance of Martha Keller took me out of the picture. The near-death experience angle, scientific or spiritual, was also basically overlooked, another disappointment. Eastwood fails to infuse any moments of suspense or heart into the story and when all is said and done, Hereafter is an anticlimactic, sleepy and momentum-less mess of a film. I liked the film and Eastwood should be applauded. First off, you have that totally useless subplot with Cecile De France (that CAN'T be her real name...?). Hereafter is a consistently identifiable Clint Eastwood movie only in the sense that the prolific filmmaker shows that he still has the ability to confound our expectations of him. I won't describe here the traumatic surprises some of them experience. It's impossible to describe, but also impossible not to feel, and so this movie is more about a feeling, a longing within us all to find meaning, to be validated perhaps, for who we are, not for what we do. After a near-death experience during a tsunami, hard-nosed French TV journalist Marie LeLay (De France) reassesses her life. Hereafter is a rather intimate drama following 3 parallel stories involving death. I think Eastwood decided to channel Robert Redford for this dreadful, slow, rambling mess of a movie. 1) Matt Damon should stick to Jason Bourne. There are various degrees of solace, or not. geojoil. But is he in fact communicating with people beyond the grave? The nagging thought distracted me away from the story. Of course, I am over 50, so I can actually sit still through a slower paced storyline that includes a number of different characters, without something blowing up, or someone getting undressed to keep my attention. 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