Film Reviews

Hereafter

• Rating:
• Director: Clint Eastwood
• Starring: Bryce Dallas Howard
• Details: US/129mins TBC

An unconvincing story of three people in three different countries tenuously linked by death, Hereafter sees Matt Damon take the lead role, although he only sporadically appears on screen. In fairness to the man best known as Jason Bourne, he's the best thing about this otherwise choppy production, which struggles to juggle its eclectic cast of dramatic characters. The fractured narrative fails because Damon's thread is the only one that works, and when Eastwood attempts to bring it all together at the end, it becomes almost laughable.
Damon plays San Francisco-based factory worker George Lonegan. A man who once made a nice living by contacting the afterlife for money, he has turned his back on his gift in recent times. George lives a fairly solitary existence, but yearns to connect with another person on a fundamental level, and one which doesn't involve a reading. Meanwhile, a French TV star caught up in a tsunami miraculously survives, but then begins to have visions. Has her near-death experience made her psychic, or is she just plain mental? In London, pre-teen twins on a council estate share a special bond in life and death. When one is tragically killed, the other searches for a way to speak to his deceased sibling. If you can't see where this is going, then you're probably Helen Keller.
Damon's story is constantly hinting at a bigger, better movie about a medium with an inner torment that just won't go away. Human contact for George results in pain and sleepless nights, which, if explored fully, could have made for a more gripping story in itself. Truth be told, Damon's subtle and engaging performance deserved a better film; when Eastwood cuts to London or Paris, it's extremely frustrating and only serves to reiterate the fact that the nucleus of this expansive tale should've been the only one told. The director obviously knows how to tell a good story - no one can doubt that - but his apparent three-take philosophy only works with actors of Damon's calibre. Perhaps he didn't give the young twin actors time to improve on their scenes during filming - but if he did, they're just bad actors.
When it comes down to it, this is a poor drama that borders on pretentious at the best of times. Damon is always watchable - but little else about Hereafter is.

Review by Mike Sheridan