It takes a bold film to attempt to tackle such universal issues such as the afterlife, let alone one that is a mainstream Hollywood movie. Clint Eastwood's "Hereafter" succeeds beautifully in giving us a human story about life after death in a way that I thought was very life affirming.
"Hereafter" concerns three separate stories of people who in some way are affected by questions of the afterlife. Matt Damon gives one of his most affecting and understated performances as George, psychic who actually seems to have the real gift to communicate with people's loved ones. George however doesn't look as this as a gift but a curse, he seems to be unable to touch a person without seeing a vision. In another story, french actress Cecile De France plays Marie, a newswoman who dies for a moment during a tsunami. She survives, but while she was clinically dead, she has also experiences visions of a possible afterlife. Then there is young actor Frankie McClaren playing Marcus, a boy who recently lost his twin brother Jason (Also played by McClaren). Marcus wants answers and tries to find someone who is able to communicate with Jason.
"Hereafter" follows a formula such as "Crash" or "Babel" where these three stories are in some way linked and by coincidence they intersect at some point. Eastwood however doesn't stress this link, he cuts from one story to another in a very straight forward and simple way, I never felt I was being manipulated.
"Hereafter" is a very gentle film, it's quiet and reflective like much of Eastwood's work. He focuses on these people who are all in their way lonely and trying to make a connection so they don't feel as lonely. Damon in particular does a good job showing his character's struggle to live a normal life, by taking on a job at a construction plant, and doing a cooking class all in an effort to fit in. He has an all too brief encounter with a girl (Bryce Dallas Howard) he really likes, but things change when she discovers he's a psychic.
McClaren is very affective, he gives a sense of not being a professional actor, I'm not sure if he is or not, his face sometimes doesn't seem to change, yet we always seem to know what he's thinking, the scenes with him and Damon are particularly touching.
France's character is perhaps the one who speaks for the majority as someone who ponders the questions we all ask: "What happens to us when we die?" It's such a common question in which we know we won't get an answer until it actually happens, yet it has always fascinated us. Marie becomes so obsessed, it threatens her career and her personal life, yet coming from one who has thought long and hard about this question, I could understand her pursuit.
All this being said, I'm not sure if "Hereafter" is a perfect movie, yet it is probably the film that has affected me the most all year, I am fascinated by the subject, and Eastwood's approach, this is probably his best film since "Letters from Iwo Jima". No matter what the subject he tackles, Eastwood keeps a calm and sober style, like his music score, Eastwood plays his films like jazz, he deals with moments and scenes that on the page might seem cliche, but he understates them in a way that make them seem real and more meaningful. With Damon, he has found a great leading man for these kinds of stories, he brings the same kind of soft and understated approach to these scenes and they work beautifully.
In the end "Hereafter" becomes more a film about living with death in our minds and being able to live our lives happily, afterall life is the only thing we can be sure of, and we might as well make the most of it. This is a film not to be missed.
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