From Here to Eternity - Hereafter

3 out of 5 popcorn kernels

See Trailer Here

The concept of life after death is an old one (shameless plug* it is also the theme of my next novel),and I think it is because it is such a mysterious aspect of life that the freedom to write about it leaves one open to many forms of imagination.

Hereafter is interesting for two reasons: One, it does not bring a religious aspect to the question of life after death - and Two, it manages to hold a very dull plot together with amazing special effects and good actors.

Hereafter weaves together three different stories and pulls them together in a rather amusing and unexpected way. Clint Eastwood - who's directing I am loving with each movie Grand Torino being one of my favorites (although I believe he has directed more than 20), keeps our attention from the beginning of the film when we are introduced to Marie (Cecile de France), who is swept up by an island tsunami, in a scene that swept me away. She is a newsreader in France, and her life changes after her island experience. George (Matt Damon) who can connect with the dead and once made a living at it, but now has taken a blue-collar job and some cooking classes to escape what he called a curse, "Sometimes it's best NOT to know EVERYTHING about a person."Then we meet Frankie and George McLaren (playing themselves) twin brothers helping out there mother in England, when one of then is killed in an auto accident and the twin who remains must adjust.

Love My Mind Instead

So we have one brush with death, one dealing with loss, and a man who has experience with both. Although each of these stories are good, the one with Matt Damon has the most range, and subsequently is the more interesting. It is the only story line that most people can't relate to, thus it forces us all to ask the question, "If I had super powers to help others, but as a result I cannot help myself, is it worth it?" George is a man that must struggle with a gift, and he runs from it, because no one wants to be associated with a person that knows your darkest secrets without having built a relationship of trust with you first. All George has to do is touch you - and BLAM - the trailer of your life is revealed.

The other storylines give way to being familiar, not in their plots, but in their emotions. We understand what the characters are going through, and are not surprised with the outcome. Their lives, and how others react to their grief (for lack of a better word) is what makes this a passable film. It keeps you watching, but doesn't keep your attention. I'm glad they left any religion aspects out of the film, because it didn't get preachy with sin vs. sinner, or church & state - but it does give insight that we all are connected whether in life or death, and how our impact on people can be far reaching.

I also enjoyed how the stories came together...I believed it, and the ending was a surprise I was comfortable with.

I also thought about Jesus...and to not get preachy, but I wondered if Jesus was a carpenter by trade, and used his hands to heal when he grew up, did he think it too was a curse when those hands had the talent to build his cross, but those same hands could not save him when he was crucified?

Yep...this movie gets you to thinking, and isn't that what a movie is suppose to do?