I'm a big fan of Clint Eastwood's directing, but every once in a while, he misses. "Hereafter" for me is a miss.
Having done a lot of research on this phenomenon and having an interest in it, I looked forward to seeing this film. Hereafter focuses on three people: a French newscaster who is caught in a tsunami and has a near death experience; a young boy whose twin brother dies; and a psychic who believes his ability is a curse, not a gift, and therefore resists it.
Now, I believe we have lost the art of the story buildup -- nowadays a story has to get to the point in the first five minutes of the movie. Eastwood builds to the ultimate interconnection of these three people but the build takes until almost the end of the film. And getting to the end of the film is a slow journey.
In spite of this, I found the ending sweet, and the beginning very powerful, showing a tsunami and its effects. Cecile de France is very good and so interesting looking; however, a near death experience is life-changing. I'm not sure we saw the effects of that experience on the Cecile de France character. Matt Damon hands in his usual internalized performance, and it works well here; and Frankie/George MacLaren are wonderful and heartbreaking as the twins.
This film could have been much more powerful; I thought it lost its way as it was getting to the point of the movie.
Having done a lot of research on this phenomenon and having an interest in it, I looked forward to seeing this film. Hereafter focuses on three people: a French newscaster who is caught in a tsunami and has a near death experience; a young boy whose twin brother dies; and a psychic who believes his ability is a curse, not a gift, and therefore resists it.
Now, I believe we have lost the art of the story buildup -- nowadays a story has to get to the point in the first five minutes of the movie. Eastwood builds to the ultimate interconnection of these three people but the build takes until almost the end of the film. And getting to the end of the film is a slow journey.
In spite of this, I found the ending sweet, and the beginning very powerful, showing a tsunami and its effects. Cecile de France is very good and so interesting looking; however, a near death experience is life-changing. I'm not sure we saw the effects of that experience on the Cecile de France character. Matt Damon hands in his usual internalized performance, and it works well here; and Frankie/George MacLaren are wonderful and heartbreaking as the twins.
This film could have been much more powerful; I thought it lost its way as it was getting to the point of the movie.