Hereafter

George (Matt Damon) sees dead people wherever he goes. He was once a legitimate psychic, but he gave that up to be a forklift operator because, as his brother Billy (Jay Mohr) said, “he couldn’t cope.”

George is the central piece of Clint Eastwood’s latest film, Hereafter, which is about death and what comes after. Sure, Eastwood as Dirty Harry killed some bad guys, but they didn’t show up to haunt him.

Before we get to George, we get to French Journalist Marie (Cecile de France). She survives what is meant to be the 2004 Tsunami (though no year is given, the implications are there), but not before she sees an eerie world of light and shadows.

And also, there are twin brothers Jason and Marcus (twins George and Frankie McLaren). They live with their careless mother in London until Jason is killed by a truck while evading some hoodlums. After that, all Marcus wants to do is to get in touch with Jason.

Eastwood, and his writer, Peter Morgan, have crafted what is admittedly a slow-moving work. One needs a lot of patience to get through the film’s development of its characters and their relationships. It doesn’t help that, despite what the trailer may imply, the convergence of the three leads only happens in the very end.

But if one has the patience, the film won’t be so bad. Eastwood’s depiction of disaster, working on a decent budget of $50 million, is frightening without being elaborate. And it helps that of the main three, McLaren’s debut performance is the best.

The film may be dark, but its ultimately an optimistic film. This is reflected by the cinematography of Tom Stern, and music by Eastwood himself. Once one can get through the long haul, then that message will be clear.