Last weekend, I had a chance to take in a movie. My choice? Hereafter, directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Matt Damon, Cecile de France and Frankie MacLaren. I was attracted to this movie because I’m familiar with Eastwood’s directing style. He has a taste for understatement and subtlety so when I view his films, I don’t find myself always overwhelmed by giant explosions or intense violence. Instead, I see the introspection of the characters, the inner drama and the details of the scene. Eastwood uses his style to bring out the dialogue and the actors to allow them to bask in the glory of the character.
Before we get into the movie, I want to pay a few words with regard to the theater. We attended the movie at the Decker Lake Carmike theater in West Valley City. It’s a nice theater, but perhaps its showing its age already. Attendance usually seems pretty low as I have never had to stand in lines longer than 3-4 people to get tickets at a matinee, even on a weekend. This Carmike theater, like many others, is a megaplex with 15 theaters, each with large comfortable seats, wide screens, dolby stereo sound systems and the DLP projector from Texas Instruments.
The only flaw in my experience was noticing the patch of new screen in the bottom left hand corner. It’s obvious that someone had the poor judgment to throw something at the screen like a drink or maybe food. It’s also unfortunate that replacing the screen is so expensive that only a patch could be installed to replace the soiled surface. While watching the movie, it wasn’t hard to pick out the area where the screen had been replaced. Perhaps in the near future, screen manufacturers will create a screen that lends itself to repairs that blend in together. Or maybe attendance will pick up to the point where they can afford to replace the screen. I don’t know if it’s just me, but it seems like every screen I’ve seen at this theater has some little flaw in it that I notice when the screen goes white that I wouldn’t see otherwise. These screen flaws are something I have come to expect at the Cinemark in West Valley with discount showings of second run movies - not the Carmike.
Back to the movie, which was truly an unforgettable movie. All of the actors in this movie played their parts well, and they played them with emotion, conviction and authenticity. Part of the power of the acting in this movie is due in part to Eastwood’s directing style. I read about that years ago in an interview of Kevin Bacon regarding his starring role in Mystic River. As Bacon explains it, Eastwood would tell Bacon that there were only going to be a couple of takes so he should give it everything he’s got in the first 2 takes. To paraphrase Bacon, Eastwood told him, “You’ve done your character homework, you know the scene, the lines and you know the motivation of the character. I don’t want to wear you out by shooting ten or fifteen takes so you can put it all in the first two takes.”
That philosophy bears a bounty of fruit in this movie. Every character is sincerely motivated with clear and unambiguous expression. Even Jay Mohr, a supporting cast member comes through as an accomplished actor in this film. I point out Mohr because I think this is the first time I’ve seen him in a dramatic role and he shines in it. I remember him most for a hilarious satirical look at the Hollywood entertainment industry in a Fox television series called “Peter Dragon.” You would never know him to be the same actor if you had seen him then. He has really grown into his own.
Matt Damon plays the main character of a retired psychic who can talk to the dead. He’s really unhappy about it because he has no control over the experience and doesn’t take well to relationships as a result. The most interesting part about watching this film is being able to forget he is a professional actor and see him for the character he plays. In the film, we see the unease and discomfort he has about the talent he has, but cannot control. He struggles with his relationships and we identify with the isolation he endures.
Cecile de France is a virtual unknown in the US and plays the part of a french news celebrity. Her most recent film history is almost exclusively French films with the last 10 years featuring a majority of French films. Her scenes include English subtitles and a very interesting perspective on French news culture. Her scenes sometimes take us on a guided visual tour of her inner thoughts allowing us to see the person behind the newscaster as well as her own difficulties in career and relationship maintenance and that makes it easier for us to identify with her as well.
Finally, there is Frankie MacLaren. This is his debut in a starring role, according to the Internet Movie Database. Frankie plays twins, both of them, and he is incredibly convincing. I figured that they had two real twins in the movie, but he nails both of them without the slightest hint that there is really only one boy in the film. This is also evidence of fantastic direction and use of technology to fool the audience long enough to give the illusion of two boys, all very well done.
The movie is peppered with scenes where the details really stand out, particularly with respect to the way light plays on the characters and their surroundings. Eastwood makes extensive use of lighting to bring out the details that add to the emotion in the scene, much like we might remember some detail of our childhood. I was most impressed with the way light played on the eyes of the actors, too. Scenes were set so as to allow the light to pass through the surface of the eyes and to bounce off the iris, giving us a sense of depth in the scene and in the character.
I also noticed that the soundtrack is understated with most scenes playing with no soundtrack music. And when the music comes, it only adds to the scene rather than overwhelming it. The music was tastefully added where needed and didn’t detract from the scene.
One final thought about the paranormal subject matter. This movie can be unsettling for kids 13 and under. The subject matter of ghosts and death can be disturbing for younger kids as they may have a difficult time separating the movie from reality. Hence, the PG-13 rating is quite appropriate. If you have a taste for the paranormal, this is a great exploration of the subject with a very personal perspective on the subject.
Overall, I found this film compelling, engrossing and unforgettable as I can still recall the scenes in the movie very well, even a week after viewing. I heartily recommend it as worth the time and the money.
