This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Good George Lonegan; he has a good will, integrity and compassion, someone who is probably too honest to be a psychic. In a field, or rather, a pseudo-profession, loaded with charlatans and quacks eager to bilk their clients with fallacious readings, George is the rare exception; he's for real, as his website advertises, this forklift operator, this weirdo with the gift, can genuinely speak to the dead: not in tongues, not as another person, and not with the usual theatrics and accouterments one would associate with readings. The most fascinating aspect about George, and "Hereafter", is that we're not necessarily dealing with a Christian, or the Judeo-Christian concept of heaven. Look all you want, high and low, in the foggy landscape of the souls that the near-dead(Marie Lelay, a French reporter who survives a tsunami, played by Cecile de France), and the instrument for the dead(our hero) have seen, or have access to, because God, "our" God, so to speak, the western model, is not necessarily in the diegetical details. The third protagonist, the emotionally dead(Marcus, a young English lad who is left behind with a drug-addled mother after his identical twin gets hit by a car, played by Frankie McLaren), in this filmmaker's beautifully executed triptych of incidental stories, attends a Christian funeral that is quickly replaced by a Hindu one, as a way to democratize the world religions, both east and west. George might be an agnostic, or perhaps, polytheistic. He makes no claim on knowing where all those souls he divines ultimately ascend towards. For spiritual nourishment, he turns to Charles Dickens, not the bible, or any other religious text. Enigmatic and stony, the moviegoer knows one thing for sure, the man is tired. While the hunting in the hereafter was good, George quit, when being a creep finally took its toll. Played by Matt Damon, who achieved stardom back in 1997 portraying the same sort of damaged person in hiding, the blue collar savant of Gus Van Sant's "Good Will Hunting"(the janitor at MIT with a prodigious knack for mathematics and getting angry), differs from the wicked smaht maintenance worker in this key respect; he attitudinizes among the riffraff as a way of being alone, rather than to be part of a community(working-class Boston), a tribe. Both characters have best friends(in George's case, an older brother), nagging consciences at their disposal, the people knowledgeable enough to be horrified, by what they perceive to be as their buddy/brother's gross underachieving at dead end jobs. In "Good Will Hunting", Chuckie(Affleck) tells Will, "It'd be an insult if you're still here in twenty years," whereas Billy(Jay Mohr) reassures good George Lonegan that the chaos which surrounded their first go-around at the family business has been eliminated from the revamped organizational model. But math isn't a curse. George lives alone, eats alone, and sleeps alone, because unlike most psychics, the scam artists who tell people what they WANT to hear, the Victorian literature buff tells people what they NEED to hear. Against his better judgement, George relents and grants the woman he brings home from a non-credit course in Italian cuisine, Melanie(Bryce Dallas Howard), from Pittsburgh, a reading, and in the process, destroys, what he thinks, is his best and last chance for love. Partly out of anger, a momentary flare-up(shades of Will Hunting, perhaps), since Victoria prodded George to perform with such insistence, but mostly out of his inborn humaneness, the reluctant psychic transmits an apology from Melanie's father, who had apparently molested his daughter as a child. The fatalism of George's situation is unbearable; he's compelled to tell the truth, but the truth, as well all know, hurts, and as the words tumble out of his mouth, good George Lonegan knows the consequences from prior experiences in dealing with intimacy this potent. In all likelihood, she'll never talk to him again, but it's more important to him that the woman attains peace of mind...someday. And sure enough, Melanie is a no-show at the next class. Looking for answers, George ventures out on a literature-based pilgrimage to the U.K., where he visits a church of sorts, Charles Dickens' house, and with further extrapolation, a secularized miracle occurs, the reader of his audio-books, Derek Jacobi(read: priest), just happens to be making a public appearance at the London Book Fair. That's where the instrument for the dead converges with the near-dead and the emotionally dead, in which the trio of depressed strangers teach each other how to be alive again. It's not the holy ghost, but the ghost of Charles Dickens who looks over these sad, lonely people, and that's the subversive genius of "Hereafter". George Lonegan knows that life doesn't end after death, but he believes in "Little Dorrit" more than Jesus Christ.… Expand

This is a solid film. This is the type of film that is missing in Hollywood, where directors direct to tell a story with solid characters and strong themes. So great job Warner Bros and Clint Eastwood. This is also a great movie for people who like interlocking stories and kudos to the film for its bravery in using subtitles, and use of locations other than the United States. Matt Damon did a fine job and I don't think this would have been as strong or as intriguing of a movie without him. I hope to see more of these types of films come out of Hollywood.… Expand

Anyone wanting to find out or curious about the Hereafter; DON'T WASTE YOU TIME!
WHY ABOUT 30% OF THE FILM WAS IN SUBTITLES IS BEYOND ME. ESPECIALLY WHEN THE FRENCH CHARACTER'S SPOKE ENGLISH. All this story is about is a 10 year old boy who's brother die's and a Frenchwriter.
HMMM...MAYBE THERE'S A PART 2 COMING? NOT.

â

At 80, Eastwood has made perhaps his most internal and thoughtful film yet. The movie is a meditation on the questions and the mysteries about death and the afterlife. Introspection is not really something we're accustomed to doing much of anymore, as our culture tends to reward idiocy and silliness more than anything else, so it's understandable to me why some audiences would find this to be depressing or lousy, but really it's not. It's a very moving film for viewers who appreciate something a little more intelligent than usual. One of the year's best.… Expand

I have seldom been so moved by a film. Eastwood efficiently takes the right amount of time to tell the story and fully explore the characters.What a marvelous ensemble cast! I will definitely see it again.

As usual Clint Eastwood shows he is one of the few extraordinary directors of our times. He treats subject matters that not many people are educated or intelligent enough to understand. What he shows is truth, has been proven but not accepted by the medical world....that's why you should go, see this movie, get educated and open minded. Mr. Eastwood is a great American director, the best.

Quick comment on the complaint "30%" of the film is subtitled --- it's hardly that much, and kudos to Clint Eastwood for having French people speak French in France where a portion of the story takes place.

Well thought out, with excellent character developement. It comes together beautifully and points out that we have purpose in life , that life's events happen for a reason, sans coincidence

TOO SLOW for me, great cast, and a few interesting parts, but never finished anything.
The best contribution Clint Eastwood made was the music. I hope you wait for the DVD rental.

I have to disagree with just about everyone. All the critics say that Eastwood doesn't take a position on the afterlife but everything in the movie was about the truth of an afterlife. I thought the movie was well acted, made complete sense and was very enjoyable. I'd give it a 90 out of a 100.

This is Clint Eastwood's best movie since his directorial debut with "Play Misty for Me." To be fair, I have loathed many of Eastwood's movies, from "True Crime" to "Absolute Power" to "Gran Torino," but this one hits every jackpot, from great acting to great CGI effects to great and deeply moving drama to occasional offbeat humor. It's Eastwood at his absolute peak.

This is a superb movie. I didn't go see it because of the mediocre reviews, but I'm so glad I rented it as a DVD. The different characters' stories are artfully inter-woven and all the actors--especially Matt Damon and the young boy who plays Marcus is excellent. I couldn't have enjoyed it more. Do not pass it by.

This movie is a piece of cinematic perfection that will probably go un-appriciated by the mass audience and even the film adepts for many years. Then given time and well after Clint Eastwood has passed (20 years rings for me), people will look back and be stunned at the sheer mastery of cinematic presentation.

For me this movie captured the essence of what cinema can capture and express as an art form. We often go to movies to be entertained and this is only what we want/expect from cinema. When something can fundementally effect us other than soley just entertaining our senses for a brief moment, this is when the medium changes from that which is something we just watch to something that connects us to something else. What that "else" is I leave to be experienced by those who are able to experience it, as it can be something almost indescribable. When it's the right time and when you are ready you'll see what I am talking about. Until then this will be just another film, forgoten and left to the past.… Expand

This is an overlooked gem. If you do not expect something that pompously tries to offer to solutions that no one honestly can, you actually will find a humbler, charming meditation on loss and fear of loneliness. It has a spare but authentic look, features some wonderful scenes between very credulous characters, and offers a hopeful, instead of outright "happy," ending. As a plus, the scenes of Paris, London, and the amazing opening of a tsunami disaster are gorgeous. No doubt about it, it is a slowly evolving picture; we find out about the characters over time, not all at once, but I never was distracted or bored. The only off-key to me was the music near the end.... whose sudden easy jazz sound was nothing like the mood of the film.… Expand

Solid work as always from Clint Eastwood. Hereafter is a great and heartfelt story. And very real about a topic that is as quoted in the film a topic of which is not to be discussed seriously.
I like the way the stories are woven together, with a firm hand.
The CGI used with the tsunami-scenes are incredibly well done. Exciting as well as close to realistic.
All the actors does a great job, even the little kid playing two roles, mainly due to Eastwoods way with all the actors I presume.
Great storytelling, and much undervalued and underrated by many, this little gem.… Expand