Hereafter

I have respect for Clint Eastwood, both as an actor and a director. Hereafter is not quite among Eastwood's best, but I personally loved it and consider it one of the most underrated movies of 2010-2011. It is beautifully filmed and edited, and Eastwood once again shows what a great director he is. And also as a composer too, Eastwood writes the music here also and with the guitar and piano rhythms it is quite simple but very understated and effective, I found it more memorable than Changeling. The script is thoughtful as well and the characters are interesting enough. I have often heard and seen criticisms of Hereafter being too slow or the story being too ambiguous. I can understand, but I found the slow pace worked, this is a very quiet and reflective film, the pace conveyed this very well. The story is ambiguous, but complex, thought-provoking and moving also. Matt Damon is superb, as is Cecile De France. Bryce Dallas Howard also excels in one of her better performances. Overall, a great movie if not for all perhaps. 9/10 Bethany Cox