"Hereafter"

Heyo. If you know me, you know that I'm very into a lot of things. I'm into thinking quite a bit about the state of things, and how things go about in the world today.

But one thing you might not know about me is that one subject that frequently comes up for me is death. I tend to think about death all the time for some reason, and it's something I can rarely take my mind off of.

So when Clint Eastwood makes a movie about the afterlife? Well... I couldn't help but check it out.

Which brings me to today's movie...

Hereafter

George (Matt Damon) is a psychic who doesn't do any readings since he views his supposed 'gifts' as a curse. Marcus (Frankie McLaren) is a boy whose twin brother dies in a car accident. Marie (Cécile de France) is a reporter who had a near-death experience during a tsunami while investigating a story in Indonesia. All three find themselves pondering about the afterlife and what they go to when they die, and it profoundly affects all three of them.

So yeah. This movie is a little disjointed at first; it starts with three seperate stories that all converge at the end that ponder various things about the nature of an afterlife. It's a very slowly paced meditation on death, and it really has a few things to say about the afterlife. Honeslty? I found it to be fairly stimulating, but god damn it was it depressing. George and Marie's stories laid it off on the sadness a bit, but god damn it Marcus' story was super depressing, and I felt the most moved by his story. It actually creates a bit of a schism when we start comparing stories, however, and that shift took me out of the movie.

As well, the convergence of the storylines might come off as being a little cheap to some viewers. The events that occur have a bit of a bent to them, as well, and some may find those elements can make the viewing experience a little less moving. I found the ending to be the only way it could really have closed the movie, even if it did rely on supernatural elements a little too much. Some of the plots also felt a little clichéd and melodramatic at points, and it detracted from some things. It really didn't pause on the meditation of the afterlife that occurred, however, and the to me brought closure to all the thoughts that it had been bringing up until that point.

And it was helped by excellent performances from the entire cast as well. Everyone that was in this movie did a good job, though of particular note is Frankie McLaren, who apparently never acted before. He does an astoundingly beautiful job as a boy trying to come to terms with the fact that he's lost his brother. He was seriously the best actor in the movie, which is saying something considering he has to work with Matt Damon.

Hereafter is certainly one of the most depressing movies of the year, but fortunately it's for all the right reasons. Sure, the plot may not be the greatest, but its meditations on where we go after life are very thought-provoking and beautiful in their own kind of way. So I say go check it out.

3/4

It has a few flaws, but it's still worth checking out.

This is Herr Wozzeck Reviews. I'll see you guys next time.