Hereafter DVD
Starring: Matt Damon, Cecile De France, Jay Mohr, Bryce Dallas Howard
Director: Clint Eastwood
Rating: 4/5
Clint Eastwood has never stayed in the same genre through his directing career and he takes on the spiritual world with his new offering Hereafter.
The movie sees him team up once again with leading man Matt Damon, the pair worked together on Invictus just last year, and together that have delivered a very compassionate and emotional movie.
Hereafter tells the story of three people who are touched by death in different ways.
George (Matt Damon) is a blue-collar American who has a special connection to the afterlife.
On the other side of the world, Marie (Cecile De France), a French journalist, has a near-death experience that shakes her reality.
And when Marcus, a London schoolboy, loses the person closest to him, he desperately needs answers.
Each on a path in search of the truth, their lives will intersect, forever changed by what they believe might--or must--exist in the hereafter.
Lets get one thing straight Hereafter doesn't offer any answers or produce any expert opinion instead it looks at how three people are touched by death.
Damon gives another great performance as George as he struggles with the 'gift' that he has been given - rather seeing it more like a curse.
Cecile De France's performance is equally moving as she tries to understand what happened to her as she fought to stay alive during the Tsunami - did she see the afterlife? Was she on her way to heaven? These answers are not given and the movie is the better for it.
But the story of Marcus is perhaps the most touching as he loses a twin brother, a bond they say is the strongest of them all. The young boy, who is placed with a foster family just want a message from his brother as he struggles to adjust to life on his own.
Hereafter really is a very touching drama as all three central character struggle to deal with the idea of death - and what happens to us when we die.
Eastwood has delivered a movie that is intelligent and open minded as well as compassionate and emotional.
The director never tries to give the audience an answer and instead leaves us to make up our own minds.
This really is an absorbing piece of filmmaking which leaves you with many questions as the final credits roll - well worth a watch.
Hereafter will be available on Blu-ray Triple Play, Double Play, On Demand and Digital Download from 13th June 2011.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
Read our interview with psychic and spiritual adviser Cher Chevalier.