Movie Review: Hereafter.

Caught Hereafter just last week, and I watched it before I even caught the trailer. Okay, technically I did, but just a few hours before the movie and after the show was decided on. Daring move on my part, but some reviews on the papers and online raved about it, and afterall, Clint Eastwood is a renowned director while Steven Spielberg co-produced the show. How bad can it get, right?

Wrong.

Giving this movie 2.5 out of 5, I went in with some amount of expectations, I mean, Matt Damon always does good movies. I came out of it a little disappointed that it was almost silent for half of the movie and while mainstream cinemas may not classify this movie to be of an abstract piece, I do, in my personal cataloguing. Movies with after-life themes have always been intriguing for me and despite not being a fan of horror flicks, I do enjoy the kick of some heart-thumping, shocking scenes. Hereafter is nothing like that.

This plot revolves around the mystery behind life after death, where three different stories ultimately come together to give one concluding end to the film. The story of Marcus facing the loss of his twin brother touched me the most. Well, I am guilty of being an unstoppable faucet when it comes to touching stories and to be honest, the English boy (George or Frankie McLaren) did a great job in transferring his emotions to the audience - I swear I heard a couple of sniffs that didn't belong to me. 

Matt Damon probably used only 20% of his expertise as a Hollywood actor to bring out his character - not only because he is a marvelous action flick actor, but also because most of his character's portrayals relied heavily on facial expressions and body language alone. That is not to say, however, that Matt had a easy job though he did manage to come across to me as a lonely introvert, which George Lonegan, his character, was. Those lonely meals and how Melanie (Bryce Dallas Howard - almost like a calefare!) left him just when he thought he had found a companion in life - well done.

The ending seemed like a rather abrupt closure at the end of the two-hour movie when the characters George and Marie LeLay (played by Cécile De France) are drawn together. 

Don't expect much from this show, which I recommend to watch only if you have nothing better to do than to catch a show but you've actually watched everything else that's showing. It only makes things harder if you're not a Matt Damon or Clint Eastwood fan.