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

It was highly recommended by a friend. I was, to put it mildly, deeply disappointed. It simply goes nowhere--very, very slowly. The ending's the biggest yawn of all. If you've liked Eastwood's work up to now, don't ruin those good feelings by seeing this one.

The movie is definitely a well crafted one than its average. However, "Hereafter" doesn't give the strong impressions and profound air compared to Clint Eastwood's (the famous director who directed it) oscar winning movies.

No complaints about the acting or really directing... this movie fails b/c it's a bad story. If you're like me and thought this movie might shed some interesting perspective on life and death than you ignored the bad reviews and went anyway. I'm going to do you a solid and tell you that there is nothing interesting about this movie. It's two hours of depressing scenes and no pay off at the end. Most movies take you on a roller coaster.. happy, sad, happy, sad, finally happy. This movies is sad, sad, sad, sad, and kind of not sad at the end. It's just not an enjoyable experience.… Expand

This movie is bad because of story not because of acting or directing. Kept looking at my clock wanting it to end it seemed really slow. Also with this story their was a lot more that could have been done but instead their where a lot of scenes that I considered not exactly important to the story.

This is really the first Clint Eastwood movie I have taken a strong, strong disliking for. It's got an interesting enough premise, dealing with what happens after you die, but the execution and acting just never came together ot make anything that was believable or thought provoking. None of the three storylines quite work, though Damon does try his hardest as a lovesick psychic, but he's still just phoning this performance in. Especially painful to watch are the women, Cecil de France and Bryce Dallas Howard, who just kind of obnoxious props in the overall storyline, and lack any depth. The ending is contrived, the special effects lackluster, and I really hope Eastwood gets a chance to redeem himself after this mess.… Expand

The near death experience is what we the viewer suffer when we sit through this unthoughtful, boring, and needless film. This was not about the hereafter but I can't tell you what it was really trying to say. It follows the experiences of three people in a fashion that made you wish they were dead. You knew the ending after the first half hour but you just wished it was not going to end the way you thought. The backing sound track got worst as the movie reached a climax. This is a big time flop.… 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

The film begins with some unimaginably bad special effects, and does not get much better from there. The plot is contrived and schmaltzy, but the actors do what they can with a script that was literally unfinished.

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.

Take a pillow to the theatre if you want to waste your time and money on this ssslllllooooowwwww motion movie, and the pillow is for sleeping not sitting on. About halfway through I asked my friend "when do you think the movie is going to start"?

I heard this was a tear jerker. The only time I cried was when I paid $8 for nachos. A 4&1/2 star rating is ridiculous. I was boared for 2 hours and was very disappointed in Eastwood's direction. So much more could have been done with this topic.

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As befitting his age Clint Eastwood is not concerned about rapid pacing in trying to tell a story. Obviously having pondered what greets us after death he employs Matt Damon as a reluctant psychic to delve into this mystery, while casting a French actress in one of the leading roles as a famous TV broadcaster who is thrust in to a world she had not dreamt of before. Excellent acting all around. But there's no huge drama to sink into, and a rather languid pace and a challenging subject for skeptics which probably results in turning a lot of people off and generating negative reviews. All in all another work of art from a great director.… Expand

When you have 3 stories, none of which are particularly exciting on their own merit, it is hard to get them to become a great story especially since they are so loosely connected. Clint seems to be out of his depth here, quite shallow spiritually and incapable of delivering a complex scenario convincingly. Nevertheless, there are still masterful takes, like the opening tsunami scene.

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

The tsunami that launches this film is simply riveting. It promises a masterful film experience that slowly falls apart and ends in a confusing, disappointing ending. The plots revolve around two people who have close experience with death and a reluctant psychic (Matt Damon). Their intensely personal struggles are absorbingâ

Eastwood has established his film directing style solely on high tension, character progressing dramas that either brings up a question which involves the right of moral obligation or gives a conventional meaning that looks deeper into the human soul. In basically almost all of his films it continues on the exploration of human behavior which we can never fully answer, but can come closer to a better understanding of it. Eastwood hasnâ… Expand

A solid and subtle movie about people and their beliefs. Very well crafted, with good acting, artfully done cinematics, a good script, and an emotionally driven story. I normally don't like Clint Eastwood films, because they lack subtlety and the acting is usually horrible, but this film along with Million Dollar baby are changing the way I feel about his films. Would have given it a 10, but the way everything comes together at the end felt forced and unrealistic to me.… 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'm surprised this movie hasn't gotten more bad reviews. The only part of the story I liked was the little boy who lost his twin brother. Every other character felt completely random, unnecessary, or was just horribly performed. The movie kept trying to force everything to fit together. My friend and I had to laugh at the whole movie to get through the boring stupidity.

I can't figure out why this movie is getting such mediocre reviews.I loved this movie and a lot of my friends have also.It was such an interesting and unique story. My only complaint was the kid was not a good actor at all.I would recommend it.

This movie may be a victim of bad marketing. The trailers gave me the impression that this was a movie discussing about what happens after we leave earth with a lot of supernatural elements, which it is not. Clint Eastwood is one of my favorite directors. He has the gift to tell a great story with beauty and thoughtfulness and Hereafter is no exception. The characters are well developed and interesting and enjoyed where they took me.… Expand

What a snoozer, I didn't care for the story line one bit, found myself looking at my watch to see how much more I must endure. I should have left after previews of coming attractions.