Hereafter

Hereafter

I think I will go to see any film directed by Clint Eastwood. The man is now in his 80’s and apparently still going strong. This is certainly not his finest film but in a peculiar way it kept me attentive. Eastwood directed and produced this film.

Apparently Clint Eastwood has had a few near death experiences himself. No doubt that influenced him. The film is really a compilation of three vignettes dealing in one way or another with the theme of death. The stories are all different but become interconnected.

Marie is a French journalist at the top of her career. We first meet her when she is on vacation with her lover. A tsunami hits the resort and she barely escapes death. The experience obviously takes it toll and she becomes less effective at work. Her boss (also her lover) tells her to take time off and write a book about French President Mitterrand. She begins writing but her book is about her near death experience. She claims that she died and saw visions. She loses her status as a journalist and is not invited back to work.

Matt Damon is the leading actor of the second vignette. He had been a psychic but left the career because he saw it as a curse not a gift. People still tried to seek him out so that he could contact dead members of their family. When we meet him he is working in a factory trying to get away from his former life.

The third story was quite touching. It takes place in London. A young boy loses his twin brother in a car accident. His mother is an alcoholic and cannot look after him. The poor child is sent to a foster home. He can’t adjust and misses his brother (and mother)

It was interesting to see how the lives became intertwined. The plot became convoluted but kept my interest.

I don’t suppose there will be too many more Clint Eastwood films.