Usually when Clint Eastwood directs a film it is a fantastically done work of art, which is why I can't believe that I'm saying how disappointed I am in his latest film, Hereafter. The story follows the lives of three ordinary people, each of whom are touched by death in a different way; one by being in the middle of a tsunami, another by losing his brother in a car accident and one who has a special connection to the afterlife. Truly, as much as I tried to like it, it was just an all-around bad movie. Peter Morgan seems to have spent very little time on his script, keeping events very choppy and one-dimensional. The characters that we meet throughout the film are almost transparent as they are never fully developed, really throwing off balance that emotional investment you need to have for each to really feel for them when they are faced with these dramatic and traumatizing experiences. The CGI during the big opening tsunami sequence is a reminder that Warner Bros. is not strong in creating realistic looking visual effects, as was previously seen with I Am Legend. And finally, even as a Matt Damon fan, I think performances in this film were at their weakest by all of the actors. The film did have a very interesting concept, but failed to execute it the right way.
Review of Hereafter
