Hereafter is a 2010 American fantasy disaster film directed, co-produced, and scored by Clint Eastwood and written by Peter Morgan. It tells three parallel stories about three people affected by death in similar waysall three have issues of communicating with the dead; Matt Damon plays American factory worker George Lonegan, who is able to communicate with the dead and who has worked professionally as a clairvoyant, but no longer wants to communicate with the dead; Cécile de France plays French television journalist Marie Lelay, who survives a near-death experience during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami; and British schoolboy Marcus (played by Frankie and George McLaren), who loses the person closest to him. Bryce Dallas Howard, Lyndsey Marshal, Jay Mohr and Thierry Neuvic have supporting roles.
Morgan sold the script on spec to DreamWorks in 2008, but it was transferred to Warner Bros. Pictures by the time Eastwood (who has a long-standing relationship with Warner Bros.) had signed on to direct in 2009. Principal photography ran from October 2009 to February 2010 on locations in London, San Francisco, Paris and Hawaii.
Hereafter premiered as a "Special Presentation" at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, 2010. The film was given a limited release on October 15, 2010, and was released across North America on October 22, 2010. Although a box office success, the film received mixed reviews, with critics praising the plot and acting performances, while noting that the movie suffered from a lack of focus on the story.
Plot
On assignment in Thailand, French television journalist Marie Lelay is caught in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Onlookers find her lifeless in the water and presume her dead, but she gasps back to life having glimpsed the afterlife. Didier, her producer and lover, reunites with Marie and they return to Paris, but the experience interfered with her work and Didier gives her a leave of absence. Marie travels to Switzerland to meet a hospice director, a former skeptic now convinced the afterlife exists. She persuades Marie to write a book on her experience, in hopes the scientific community will accept the reality of life beyond death.
In San Francisco, George Lonegan is asked by his brother Billy to perform a psychic reading for a wealthy client, Christos. Formerly a professional medium, as he is able to communicate with the dead after a childhood near-death experience, George eventually quit due to the emotional impact and the feelings of isolation. During the reading, George identifies the name "June", who Christos later admits was the name of his late wife's nurse with whom he was in love. George attends a cooking class where he meets and hits it off with Melanie, who eventually learns of his psychic ability. She asks George to perform a reading for her, and he speaks with her dead father, who asks for forgiveness for what he did to her as a child. Hearing this, Melanie becomes emotional and George never sees or hears from her again.
In London, 12-year-old twins Jason and Marcus try to prevent their alcoholic, heroin-addicted mother Jackie from losing them to social services. Jackie finally decides to get clean and sends Jason to the chemist to pick up her detox prescription; in doing so Jason is hit by a van and killed. Marcus is placed in a foster home and desperate to reunite with his brother; he steals money from the foster family to seek help in contacting Jason, but only encounters frauds. As Marcus attempts to board the London Underground at Charing Cross, Jason's cap is blown from his head and in trying to find it he misses the train, which subsequently explodes.
Having been in talks with a publisher about a biography of François Mitterrand, Marie instead submits a new manuscript: Hereafter: A Conspiracy of Silence. The publisher rejects the work, but steers her toward another in London. She also learns Didier does not intend to give back her job, as her reputation has been damaged from her fascination in the hereafter, and he is sleeping with another woman. George is laid off from his factory job and persuaded by Billy to revive his psychic practice, but instead he impulsively travels to London, visiting the Charles Dickens Museum and attending Derek Jacobi's live reading at the London Book Fair. Marie is also there reading her newly published book, Hereafter, which she signs for George; as she hands it to him, he sees a vision of her near-drowning.
Marcus also attends the event with the foster family and he spots George, who he has read about online. He is brushed off when he asks George to perform a reading, but follows George to his hotel, where he eventually relents. Through George, Jason tells Marcus he is happy in the afterlife, that he had knocked off his cap to save Marcus at the train station, and not to fear being alone. With this closure, Marcus visits his mother, who is improving in a rehab center. Marcus finds out the hotel where Marie is staying and informs George, who leaves a note inviting her to meet with him. Marie meets with George the next day, where he has a vision of them kissing, and the two immediately connect through their shared glimpses of the hereafter having made them better appreciate life.
Cast
Matt Damon as George Lonegan, "a reluctant psychic [...] who can speak to the dead but prefers not to".Random House (undated). "The London Book Fair to Star in Clint Eastwood's Next Film, Hereafter". Press release. Retrieved on February 1, 2010 (reprinted on Book Southern Africa).McNary, Dave (September 17, 2009). "Damon set for Eastwood's 'Hereafter'". Variety (Reed Business Information). Retrieved on September 18, 2009. Having previously starred in Eastwood's Invictus, he was cast in Hereafter because Eastwood was so impressed by him.Staff (March 3, 2010). "Matt Damon, accidental hero". Sunday Herald Sun (Herald and Weekly Times). Retrieved on March 3, 2010. The original Hereafter production schedule clashed with Damon's filming commitments to The Adjustment Bureau, so he initially suggested he recast the role of George for Ben Affleck, Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, Hayden Christensen or Josh Brolin. Instead, Eastwood altered the filming schedule so Damon could complete both films. Cécile de France as Marie Lelay, a French television journalist and tsunamiDawtrey, Adam (October 20, 2009). "Clint Eastwood plans London shoot for Hereafter". guardian.co.uk (Guardian News & Media). Retrieved on November 9, 2009. survivor. Frankie and George McLaren as Jason and Marcus, twin brothers. At the beginning of the film, Frankie plays the role of Jason, and George the role of Marcus; then both play Marcus alternately. Jason is killed in a car accident early in the film, and Marcus later attempts to contact him in the afterlife. Eastwood chose untrained actors because he did not want "child actors who'd been over-instructed in Child Acting 101."Svetkey, Benjamin (August 20, 2010). "Fall Movie Preview: Hereafter". Entertainment Weekly (Time Inc): p. 65. Jay Mohr as Billy Lonegan, George's brother.Kroll, Justin (January 26, 2010). "Players: Jay Mohr". Variety (Reed Business Information). Retrieved on January 27, 2010. Bryce Dallas Howard as Melanie, a woman with whom George tries to start a relationship.McNary, Dave (December 10, 2009). "'Hereafter' calls Bryce Dallas Howard". Variety (Reed Business Information). Retrieved on December 11, 2009. Thierry Neuvic as Didier, Marie's lover. (Neuvic was on holiday in Corsica in September 2009 when he was called to audition for a role in the film. His audition, which took place at a Paris hotel, lasted 15 minutes, and he read two scenes for Eastwood. Most of Neuvic's scenes were filmed in Paris.Grasset, Alain (October 9, 2009). "Eastwood vient tourner à Paris" (in French). Le Parisien. Retrieved on November 17, 2009.) Marthe Keller as a doctor and director of a hospice in Switzerland. Derek Jacobi as himself,Metcalf, Charlotte (January 23, 2010). Spa for the course. The Spectator. reading Charles Dickens' Little Dorrit at the London Book Fair. Lyndsey Marshal as Jackie, Marcus and Jason's mother, a heroin addict. Richard Kind as Christos Andreou, a client of Billy's who asks for George's psychic assistance. Steven R. Schirripa as Carlos, the cooking instructor Jenifer LewisJohnson, Kevin C. (January 1, 2010). "Kinloch native does some voodoo in Disney flick". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved on January 3, 2010. as Candace, a woman who asks for assistance in contacting her dead child. Franz Drameh as a teenager attacking Jason Mylène Jampanoï as reporter Jasmine Stéphane Freiss as Guillaume Belcher, the boss interviewed by Marie Lelay on TV Laurent Bateau as Marie's TV producer Jean-Yves Berteloot: Michel, Marie's publisher. Niamh Cusack"Niamh Cusack ". Yaketyak. Retrieved on March 5, 2010. as Angela, Marcus's foster mother George Costigan as Dennis, Marcus's foster father Mathew Baynton as college receptionist Tim FitzHigham as himself/bearded author. Tim's book "All At Sea" also features in the film. Céline Sallette as the secretary Tom Price as the man
Production Peter Morgan wrote the script on spec, and it was bought by DreamWorks in March 2008. The deal was reportedly worth a "low-seven-figure advance".Fleming, Michael (March 27, 2008). "DreamWorks takes 'Hereafter'". Variety (Reed Business Information). Retrieved on November 19, 2008. Executive producer Steven Spielberg was initially concerned that the low-key ending to the script would put audiences off the film, so Morgan rewrote it to be grander. However, subsequent drafts restored the original ending.Boucher Geoff (September 9, 2010). "With 'Hereafter,' Clint Eastwood contemplates what's next". The Los Angeles Times (Tribune Company). Retrieved on September 11, 2010. Following its split from Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks retained the script, and began talks with Clint Eastwood to direct. Eastwood was signed on in November 2008.Siegel, Tatiana (November 13, 2008). "Eastwood, Spielberg talking thriller". Variety (Reed Business Information). Retrieved on November 19, 2008. By the time of Matt Damon's casting in 2009, the script was being developed under the supervision of Eastwood's Malpaso Productions for Warner Bros. Pictures. Eastwood was attracted to the script because he was keen to direct a supernatural thriller, and liked how Morgan incorporated real-world events into fiction. Eastwood told LA Weekly: "There's a certain charlatan aspect to the hereafter, to those who prey on people's beliefs that there's some afterlife, and mankind doesn't seem to be willing to accept that this is your life and you should do the best you can with it and enjoy it while you’re here, and that'll be enough. There has to be immortality or eternal life and embracing some religious thing. I don't have the answer. Maybe there is a hereafter, but I don't know, so I approach it by not knowing. I just tell the story."Foundas, Scott (December 10, 2009). "Eastwood On The Pitch ". LA Weekly (Village Voice Media). Retrieved on January 11, 2010.