Day 175: October 22nd, 2010
Hereafter
To connect with the dead...a gift? Or a curse.
3 stories about 3 different people who are touched in some way by death. A little boy loses his twin brother, a young French journalist drowns in a tsunami, to later be revived and finally a psychic who wants to leave that profession behind and try to live his life.
I must admit, Hereafter did not entice me with it's promotional trailers. I thought the film had an interesting premise, but what I saw as far as story telling was something that left me empty and wondering that the film would most likely be left with a hollow hole at the centre. I'm not even that big of a fan of Eastwood. The man makes good films, but I wouldn't say I'm rushing to see his work. I don't know why, but ever since Million Dollar Baby, a buddy of mine and myself have seen every Eastwood film that has come out since, in the theatres. Why? Because it's Clint Eastwood.
Despite not being that interested in the film, I gave it a chance thinking that it could end up surprising me. I was wrong, the film is exactly what I expected and maybe even less. This is a shame because it is an interesting and even thought provoking premise that was nice to see explored, but it wasn't explored deep enough. Eastwood has always had a way with the camera, knowing what he needs and getting the shot, his films have a skillful elegance to them, and Hereafter is another example of a fine director at work. Unfortunately, it pails in comparison to his earlier works and for everything good about it, there are 3 things that are boring.
The film tries to feel depressing, it's about loss and death, but we never get that feeling with the film. I was never depressed or felt any kind of emotional connection to a group of people I'm suppose to be connecting with for the next two hours. This is the biggest problem. The characters are boring, uninteresting and flat. Damon is a saving grace, he gives George a haunted side that craves and requires companionship and isolation, all at once. His role is not enough to save a film that centres just as much screen time on two other characters that bring the flow and story of the film to a halt.
That little boy cannot act and it hurt me to see him on the screen. His pleas for his brother to be okay and still alive hurt my ears. Monotone and emotionless. I get the fact that he doesn't talk much and is shy, but there are little child actors who are able to pull this off. This one did not. There is a scene in which the little boy is about to board a subway, he is 'saved' when his hat flies off. We are to expect that it was his brother doing this and we are treated to the over done, trying to get my item off the ground while people walk by unknowingly kicking it around. I thought Eastwood was better than this?
The story lines do not intertwine and connect until late in the film. I would have wanted and the film needed them to submerge together sooner. The entire films feels like it is going nowhere but in circles. There is a story, but no plot. We follow these people doing mundane things. For some reason, I expect to be in the minority here. The film comes off as trying to convey important messages of things we cannot understand and thus it becomes a tad bit pretentious. I hate using that word for films, but I'm using it here. The film ends with a connection I feel nothing towards and left me with a confused look. I contemplated what I had just seen, was it really brilliance and I simply missed it? Not in the least, the film tries to be more important than it actually is. I feel like I was turned off right from the beginning with the bogus CGI used in the tsunami. It left me feeling, well, dead inside.
Hereafter is another forgettable film and right after the equally uninteresting and forgettable Invictus, I'm afraid Eastwood is trying too hard now. Both these films feel out of place for a director like Eastwood. He seems out of his element and it shows. Eastwood and Hereafter won't be seeing any award shows this year.