“Hereafter” Film Review
Here, there, everywhere... (Now on DVD)
2 Stars
As featured in: The Ithacan
As of late movies such as the “Green Zone” and “The Bourne Ultimatum” have featured actor Matt Damon running from federal agents, jumping off of bridges and avoiding friendly fire on a giant scale. But Damon goes back to his roots as a dramatic actor in the much more restrained “Hereafter.”
“Hereafter” features an interwoven story arc revolving around three characters — George (Matt Damon) a retired physic in the United States, Marie (Cécile de France) a French TV anchor and Marcus (George McLaren) a young boy reeling because of the death of his twin brother in England — who happen to run into each other despite the odds. Each lead actors performance is terrific in its own way. De France brings a vulnerability to Marie that is sexy and realistic. Damon rules the screen with his presence. He reeks of sorrow, yet carries himself confidently, especially when it comes to dealing with women, throughout the picture. McLaren plays the quiet type who selfishly relies on his brother’s efforts to get ahead. When his brother is run over McLaren’s character is forced to be the man of the house despite being just 12 years old.
Eastwood’s direction is methodical and “Hereafter” is a well crafted picture, yet the films message is unclear. This is a film about death, but each character has distinct problems that are too dissimilar to try to lump together. Then just as the ghastly feel of the movie is ingrained into the plot, the picture becomes a romance flick. For instance George Lonnegan meets a women in a cooking class played by Bryce Dallas Howard. They flirt and just as things are looking up the two separate. This is great drama and is charming yet completely pointless in the scheme of things.
Eastwood’s precise direction is mirrored in the editing room. Joel Cox and Gary D. Roach do a fine job managing the films three linear plot lines. Instead of the back and forth, what’s going on now, nature present in films like “Pulp Fiction” hardly any flashback sequences are used to throw the audience off. Whereas the story is told in a straightforward manner the visual style of “Hereafter” is anything but simple. Tom Stern’s cinematography is gorgeous for a myriad of reasons and successfully conveys the supernatural feeling Eastwood is after.
Onscreen cool blue tones, along with heavy use of shadows and great camerawork help pick up the slack for the underwhelming screenplay written by Peter Morgan. “Hereafter’s” musical score complements the visuals perfectly. Part hopefully and part somber Clint Eastwood’s music helps fill in the gaps left by the drawn out pacing present in the script.
Despite Eastwood’s best efforts the message he wants the audience to take with them at the end of the film is lost because of the length of the film. At two hours and nine minutes “Hereafter” is a half hour to long.
"Hereafter" is simply too long and because of its lengthy runtime it becomes plodding and boring. What begins as with a thunderous roar ends with hardly a whimper. A decidedly weak screenplay by Peter Morgan forces Matt Damon to take on to much. His tender performance is miraculous given the weak dialogue his character says. Without Damon’s steaming onscreen chemistry with de France and Bryce Dallas Howard the film would be irreversibly wretched.
“Hereafter” was written by Peter Morgan and directed by Clint Eastwood.
Watch the trailer below, but skip the stinking film:
As always thanks for reading!
©2011 Matthew R. Reis, All rights reserved.
2 Stars
As featured in: The Ithacan
As of late movies such as the “Green Zone” and “The Bourne Ultimatum” have featured actor Matt Damon running from federal agents, jumping off of bridges and avoiding friendly fire on a giant scale. But Damon goes back to his roots as a dramatic actor in the much more restrained “Hereafter.”
“Hereafter” features an interwoven story arc revolving around three characters — George (Matt Damon) a retired physic in the United States, Marie (Cécile de France) a French TV anchor and Marcus (George McLaren) a young boy reeling because of the death of his twin brother in England — who happen to run into each other despite the odds. Each lead actors performance is terrific in its own way. De France brings a vulnerability to Marie that is sexy and realistic. Damon rules the screen with his presence. He reeks of sorrow, yet carries himself confidently, especially when it comes to dealing with women, throughout the picture. McLaren plays the quiet type who selfishly relies on his brother’s efforts to get ahead. When his brother is run over McLaren’s character is forced to be the man of the house despite being just 12 years old.
Eastwood’s direction is methodical and “Hereafter” is a well crafted picture, yet the films message is unclear. This is a film about death, but each character has distinct problems that are too dissimilar to try to lump together. Then just as the ghastly feel of the movie is ingrained into the plot, the picture becomes a romance flick. For instance George Lonnegan meets a women in a cooking class played by Bryce Dallas Howard. They flirt and just as things are looking up the two separate. This is great drama and is charming yet completely pointless in the scheme of things.
Eastwood’s precise direction is mirrored in the editing room. Joel Cox and Gary D. Roach do a fine job managing the films three linear plot lines. Instead of the back and forth, what’s going on now, nature present in films like “Pulp Fiction” hardly any flashback sequences are used to throw the audience off. Whereas the story is told in a straightforward manner the visual style of “Hereafter” is anything but simple. Tom Stern’s cinematography is gorgeous for a myriad of reasons and successfully conveys the supernatural feeling Eastwood is after.
Onscreen cool blue tones, along with heavy use of shadows and great camerawork help pick up the slack for the underwhelming screenplay written by Peter Morgan. “Hereafter’s” musical score complements the visuals perfectly. Part hopefully and part somber Clint Eastwood’s music helps fill in the gaps left by the drawn out pacing present in the script.
Despite Eastwood’s best efforts the message he wants the audience to take with them at the end of the film is lost because of the length of the film. At two hours and nine minutes “Hereafter” is a half hour to long.
"Hereafter" is simply too long and because of its lengthy runtime it becomes plodding and boring. What begins as with a thunderous roar ends with hardly a whimper. A decidedly weak screenplay by Peter Morgan forces Matt Damon to take on to much. His tender performance is miraculous given the weak dialogue his character says. Without Damon’s steaming onscreen chemistry with de France and Bryce Dallas Howard the film would be irreversibly wretched.
“Hereafter” was written by Peter Morgan and directed by Clint Eastwood.
Watch the trailer below, but skip the stinking film:
As always thanks for reading!
©2011 Matthew R. Reis, All rights reserved.
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