Review: Hereafter

Review: Hereafter

Rating: **

Nonna's Rating: $

Rotten Tomatoes: 48%

Audience: 47%

One friend told me Hereafter was the most boring movie she'd ever seen: "Nothing happens." Another friend said she was deeply moved from the first, powerful scene all the way to the end. I had to see for myself. My assessment? It's somewhere in the middle of those two viewpoints, and it tends toward the former. The film certainly has the right credentials: directed by Clint Eastwood and starring the talented Mr. Matt Damon. All it needs is a decent script. The first scene, which focuses on a young woman caught in the power of a tsunami, is indeed masterful and terrifying, but it's all downhill from there. The story movies slowly and we're told (*spoiler alert* -- but who cares?) that there has been a vast conspiracy which has withheld scientific information about the afterlife from all of us (an afterlife which seems, BTW, incredibly boring). Religious institutions are, of course, involved in the cover-up. However, this conspiracy is mentioned and then dropped like a hot potato. I was expecting at least a little DaVinci Code mystery and mayhem to ensue -- but no such luck. So, don't bother with this film. Instead, watch The Sixth Sense again -- another view of the afterlife which is anything but boring.

Nonna's Ratings:

$$$$ = Worth paying the Friday evening price
$$$= Worth paying the Matinee price

$$= Worth a rental
$ = Wait for cable
# = Skip it