Clint Eastwood’s last four directing efforts alone (Letters from Iwo Jima, Changeling, Gran Torino, and Invictus) prove that he is more than capable of making consistently moving films, on a range of different topics, and in several genres; something he’s attempting to do again, with the release of his next movie, a supernatural thriller titled Hereafter.
Hereafter was written by Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon), and is a spiritual story that’s actually the story of three different people who have all had traumatic experiences in their lives, and how they converge towards each other, culminating in a large sequence that involves all of them.
The three main characters are George Lonegan (who will be played by Matt Damon, who previously worked with Eastwood on Invictus) ; a reluctant psychic who is able to contact the dead, but isn’t too fond of his ability; Marie (Cecile de France, Mesrine); a journalist who survives a tsunami; and Marcus (played by first time actor Frankie McLaren); who attempts to contact his twin brother in the afterlife, following his death in a car accident.
Matt Damon has described the movie as Eastwood’s “French film”, and Clint (who has himself compared the structure to that of a French picture) has stated that it has the tone of a chick flick, but “one that won’t make men want to stick a Swiss Army Knife in their leg.”
So if both hold true, and Hereafter is indeed a chick flick that men can enjoy (or at least suppress the urge to self-mutilate whilst watching), it should do when tomorrow night (September 12th); when the world premiere of the film will take place as a Special Presentation at the Toronto International Film Festival; before it closes the New York Film Festival on October 10th, and gains its release in both Canada and the U.S. on October 22nd.
For now however, we will have to make do will the movie’s trailer; which has only just been released by Warner Bros, and can be seen below; which gives a nice introduction to the major characters, and suggests it may be just as moving as Eastwood’s last few efforts.
