Hereafter

The Great Unknowns
[Matt Damon, Cecile De France, Jay Mohr, Frankie McLaren, George McLaren]


image from campblood.org

RANT: What is the deal with jobs that require workers to come to your house? Why do most schedulers tell you their workers will come between 9am - 12pm, then the guys end up coming at 4:30pm? Do these industries understand that the rest of us have jobs, too? If I promised a customer that I would be somewhere at a certain time, then showed up 6 hours late, I would lose my job! But its okay when others do it to you!

SYNOPSIS: Trying to escape his past, former psychic George Lonegan works a menial job, listens to Charles Dickens on audio to fall asleep, and takes an culinary class in an attempt to meet people. Meanwhile, seemingly unrelated traumatic events may very well shape George's future.

Director Clint Eastwood returns with a new film from a story from Peter Morgan starring Matt Damon, Cecile De France and twins Frankie and George McLaren. Amazingly enough, Eastwood is churning out film after film, directing "Invictus" in 2009, also starring Matt Damon, "Gran Torino" and "Changeling" in 2008, and "Letters from Iwo Jima" and "Flags of our Fathers" in 2006. Like a fine wine, Eastwood seems to be getting better and better with age. Age stops for no man, but Clint seems to have it a Dirty Harry choke hold.

Matt Damon stars as psychic George Lonegan who attempts to leave the otherworldly part of his life behind him. Cecile De France stars as Paris newscaster Marie LeLay, caught up in a Tsunami while on vacation, nearly drowning. Frankie and George McLaren round out the main cast as twins Jason and Marcus, the older twin Jason dying in a car accident. These events are random and in different parts of the world - San Francisco, Paris and London. But like "Crash" and "Babel" before it, Eastwood uses the three story threads to tell a gripping story that eventually weaves into a complete work.

After the rush of the tsunami sequence that opens the film, the pace of the story slows down to a trickle. Eastwood uses his signature style of slow storytelling to capture the audience into the lives of George Lonegan, Marie LeLay and Marcus. The music is simple, jazzy and true to the events and locations. Although serious in tone, Eastwood injects truth and humor into the tale.

And the truth is this... everyone has their belief in the hereafter. Some are scientific about what lies beyond. Others maintain a staunch faith of life after death due to their religions. And some believe that death brings only darkness. "Hereafter" discusses the narrow-mindedness that still lingers in this enlightened society, as well as the superstitious allure to those who claim to have a connection to the other side. While charlatans continue to take advantage of those who hearts weigh them down with regrets and words left unsaid, the rest of modern society seems to stop believing in anything at all. Are we so jaded or naive to think we have all of the answers? In any case, "Hereafter" puts the topic on unbiased display, letting our own thoughts guide us to our own answers.

Worth: Matinee and DVD

I am also trying out a new rating system shown below based on reader reaction to my somewhat complex monetary rating scale. I will give both ratings and see what kind of reaction I muster. A movie can receive up to 5 popcorn buckets. Why popcorn buckets? Because I am a slave to the thousand + calorie delight! Enjoy!