DVD review: Hereafter

Three loosely interconnected stories about the hereafter.

It was bound to happen; the bad Clint Eastwood movie interrupts a streak that lasted at least 10 years, maybe more if you can appreciate “Blood Work”.

Strangely this is something that a lot of critics are apparently waiting for, many hailed the excellent “Invictus” as that paradoxical bad Eastwood movie. I honestly don’t understand why.

But how bad is bad here? Not too much in the end, certainly watchable.

The main problem lies in the plot, the first bad plotted movie chosen by Eastwood in ages. Many stories never get anywhere, Matt Damon is a medium who can feel the “dead people” (It’s hard to be more cliché than this), it climaxes at a book convention and I could go on. It’s very weak material.

Eastwood himself is in journeyman mode. The composition of his shoots, normally pitch perfect, is still functional but nothing more.

At least he retains his gift in obtaining good performances from practically everybody. At this stage in his career I think that if he decided to get me to star in one of his movie I’ll end with an Oscar nomination. He is that good.

In the end he still gets the job done. As many masters before him he honed his craft to a point that a bad Eastwood movie is still a fairly decent movie by any other filmmaker standard. He milks the inane plot for what is worth. He bring atmosphere, at least one sequence in the beginning is amazing, he deliver on the rhythm and in the end he left us strangely satisfied.

Still he doesn’t manage to get over the very difficult subject matter. Maybe out there a movie exist that talks about death and what comes after without being morbid, preachy and depressive but is not this one.

Conclusion: A mediocre effort from one of the true masters. Still worth watching.