HEREAFTER reveiw by John Delia

Starring: Matt Damon, Cécile De France, Jay Mohr, Bryce Dallas Howard with George and Frankie McLaren as the twins.

Directed by: Clint Eastwood

MPAA Rating: PG 13 for mature thematic elements including disturbing disaster and accident images and brief strong language

Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy and Thriller

Running Time: 2hr. 9min.

USA Release Date: October 22nd, 2010

Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution

By John Delia

In general Hereafter is a good film, but it does have its problems.  After the super big opening the film starts to drag, not all the main characters are fleshed out enough to sympathize with and the ending becomes obvious early on.  For those who enjoy disaster films like The Day After Tomorrow and 2012 you won’t want to miss the beginning of Hereafter.

The film centers on three major characters each touched by death in different ways.  We find George (Damon), a labor worker in America, dismayed with his power to visit dead loved ones of strangers.  He finds himself lonely and angst ridden, not being able to touch someone without having to deal with a flash from their past.  During a tsunami, Marie (De France), a French journalist gets swept away and drowned, only to regain her life.  Having seen life on the ‘other side’ she writes a book called “The Hereafter.”  Twin London schoolboys are torn apart when one of them gets killed in a freak accident.  The remaining twin, Marcus (George/Frankie McLaren) tries to visit mediums so he can talk to his brother one last time.  Although worlds apart, Geroge, Marie and Marcus are on a collision course to find out what may exist in the afterlife.

Billed as a sci-fi thriller the first 10 minutes are just that.  The tsunami partially shown in the films trailer takes main stage with the most horrific freak of nature ever shown on film.  I am totally amazed by this part of the production.  From the actual footage I saw on the Internet of the huge wave catastrophe that took place in Hawaii and Southeast Asia, this depiction was as equally disturbing.  I cannot commend the cast and crew enough on this momentous achievement in cinema.

The acting in the film is admirable by the whole cast.  If I had to point out an outstanding performance it would be Damon as the angst ridden medium that would rather live a normal life than become rich from his ability.  One humorous scene finds George in his room alone with his pretty cooking class partner, afraid to touch her.

Hereafter is rated PG 13 for mature thematic elements including disturbing disaster, accident images and brief strong language.

FINAL ANALYSIS: Although Hereafter has the best disaster scene ever, the story doesn’t life up to the hype. (3 of 5)