Review: Hereafter

I went into the new Clint Eastood/Matt Damon movie "cold" on its opening weekend -- somehow I had managed to avoid seeing any previews or commercials for it. I was mostly very pleased with it, except for a couple of seemingly minor things that, were I not a generous and forgiving viewer, could have easily tarnished the entire movie for me.

Damon plays George, a man who previously "enjoyed" a lucrative career as a psychic who acted as a conduit between grieving relatives of people who have passed away and their deceased loved ones. Simply by touching his clients, he can tap into "the hereafter", and relay messages of forgiveness for past transgressions and resolve unresolved conflicts, leaving them with a measure of peace. As a child, he experienced an illness which left him with this "gift", which many people, including his brother, consider a blessing. George doesn't see it that way, believing that "a life devoted to death is not a good life." The physical, emotional, and spiritual energy that it takes to constantly deal with those who are mourning and desperate and their loved ones on the other side finally takes its toll, and he abandons his career at the height of his popularity to move to San Francisco and take a job as a dock worker in the hopes of living in relative anonimity.

In the meantime, the two other central characters in the film are having life-changing experiences as well. Marie, a French journalist, barely survives an experience which I will only describe as being one of the most overwhelming scenes I've witnessed in a theater since the opening fifteen minutes of Saving Private Ryan. She briefly witnesses "visions" of what she believes is an afterlife, and this radically changes her life. A London schoolboy named Marcus experiences an inconsolable loss when the most important person in his life is ripped away from him in a traffic accident. He, too, becomes preoccupied with finding out what happens to us after we exit this life.

George, in the meantime, is having difficulty staying out of the spotlight. Manic, desperate people track him down pleading for psychic readings, and he can't really get a girlfriend because once a girl finds out what he used to do for a living, that's all they want from him (it doesn't help that the girls that are drawn to him seem to have major issues). Eventually, his path crosses with those of Marie and Marcus.

I won't spoil the ending for you, but I will say this: One of the things that didn't really ring true for me in this movie is that when one of the characters is investigating theories of why we're here and what happens to us after we die, this character appears to dismiss Christianity immediately, without even pausing to consider that it might be valid. I wanted more of an explanation as to why this particular character would do that. This didn't ruin the movie for me by any means, but it certainly disappointed me. What I found even more depressing, though, was that whenever we're privy to the lead characters' visions of what the afterlife is like, all we see are shadowy glimpses of dark figures roaming through some kind of fog. I don't know about you, but I feel like I spend half my life wandering through a fog, so spending eternity just doing the same thing doesn't appeal to me. Seeing this depiction of the afterlife made me happy that I've got a reservation for a different, better place.

Recommendation: Despite my misgivings with a few of the scenes, I can't help but recommend that you see this movie on the big screen. Eastwood's direction is impeccable, the performances are always compelling, and you do care what happens to these people -- I was nearly brought to tears several times, but then I'm a soft touch. Depending on your own beliefs about what awaits us in the hereafter, you may even be encouraged as you leave the theater knowing that you have more than shadows to look forward to.