Hereafter.

When my friend Nandu posted this on his facebook wall, I was intrigued after seeing the clip that was attached. “Recently watched the movie ” Hereafter” on DVD having missed it first time round ( released 2010 ) – unbelievable that I did , considering it is directed by Clint Eastwood and stars Matt Damon !! Here is the most awesome ( near ) opening scene which should whet anyone’s appetite to see the brilliant movie if they have missed it!”

I promptly sent for a DVD of it and even briefly mentioned it in my post “Too Strange.” In that post, I had mentioned that I will eventually review the film and this is the review.

Let me start off by saying that with the hype of Clint Eastwood and Matt Damon being the motivating factors behind the decision to send for the DVD, I was a bit disappointed with the whole experience and in my post on “Too Strange”, this is what I had said – “Seeing “Hereafter” was a very unusual and indescribable experience. It is more so because it has been produced and directed by Clint Eastwood and one naturally wonders as to what prompted him to do so on a film with such an odd theme. Be that as it may, it is not a film that I would have seen had it not been recommended by someone I knew and so the surprise.”

The film revolves around three individuals whose various experiences eventually bring them together and two of them to a romantic relationship as well. The common thread that does this is one individual, played by Matt Damon being able to “connect” with dead people. That is what would have normally put me off from seeing the film but I was intrigued enough to see what it was all about.

That connecting with the dead part plays a small role but portrayal of the three individuals by Matt Damon, Cécile de France and a young lad Frankie McLaren is of the highest order and I must credit the director Clint Eastwood for getting such performances out of them. He has also avoided over use of the mystery aspect of the story and has brought the human elements to the fore which is creditable.

The story however lacks credibility, at least with me and therefore, despite it having been produced by another icon Steven Spielberg, I cannot see myself giving the film more than a [rating=4] rating.  Had I investigated a little more before I rushed to buy the DVD, I would not have spent the 130 minutes watching it.  There are however people who are intrigued by the occult and mediums and such paranormal phenomena to whom this it likely to appeal, particularly with such a famous producer/director/actor team.