After the Life
Magnolia Pictures | Release Date: February 13, 2004 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
73
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 16 Critic Reviews
Positive:
12
Mixed:
4
Negative:
0

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
The third film, After the Life, much like "On the Run," mixes a hard-edged, relentless and stripped-down crime tale with a compassionate overview. Read full review
88
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
We're treated to two smashing performances from Morel and Blanc, and all of the mysteries raised before are satisfyingly resolved. Read full review
88
Boston GlobeTy Burr
A straight-up drama and thus the only film in "The Trilogy" not forced into a genre straitjacket -- suspense thriller ("On the Run") or farce ("An Amazing Couple") -- "Life" is also the finest of the three. This isn't a coincidence. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Genre-hoppers like Steven Soderbergh ought to love this neat triple doozy. [Note: From a review of the entire trilogy.] Read full review
80
The New YorkerAnthony Lane
What we glean from Belvaux’s trilogy is the reassurance (rare on film, with its terror of inattention) that people are both important and unimportant, and that heroes and leading ladies, in life as in art, can fade into extras before our eyes. [Note: From a review of the entire trilogy.] [2 February 2004, p. 94]
80
Village VoiceMichael Atkinson
At its most contemplative, The Trilogy is a stirring and shrewd portrait of lives lived in oblivious parallel. [Note: From a review of the entire trilogy.] Read full review
80
VarietyDavid Stratton
It certainly wraps the trilogy on a very powerful, emotionally draining note. It's refreshing to see the precision and audacity with which Belvaux and his excellent cast succeed in imbuing the increasingly familiar story with completely new angles, insights and nuances. Read full review
80
Washington PostDesson Thomson
The most assured of the three films. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleRuthe Stein
Blanc is completely without vanity in showing the physical deterioration wrought by addiction. Her performance is as chilling as Lee Remick's in "Days of Wine and Roses.'' Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterRichard James Havis
The strongest film. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesManohla Dargis
Central to the last film's success are Manise and Blanc, who invest the story with intensity unmatched since Belvaux stormed through the first feature. Read full review
63
New York PostJonathan Foreman
The very effectiveness of After the Life's depiction of its main characters makes its immediate predecessor seem that much more of a waste. Read full review
60
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
Doesn't function nearly as well as a standalone piece, mainly because it's stuck with the thankless task of mopping up after the other two. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Belvaux is no Douglas Sirk, but the film is an admirable, if uneven, conclusion to an audacious project. Read full review
60
The New York TimesDana Stevens
Mr. Belvaux's sensitive, generous way with actors suggests that, with more discipline and less gimmickry, he might have made a single masterwork, and After the Life provides the best support for this assessment. Read full review
50
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
This overcrowded, overheated scenario, with many scenes repeated from the first two films, keeps us so busy tracking all the overlapping storylines, we have no time to imagine what they might mean. Read full review
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