Audiences going to this movie expecting another Sixth Sense need to be prepared for what they are about to see: a quiet, thoughtful, contemplative, melancholy drama about life and death. The movie offers no answers, does not suggest spiritual messages, yet deals heavily with the subject of grief while giving broad strokes rather than concrete details. There is a soft emotional undertone throughout the movie as we see the slow development of the plot, in Eastwood-like fashion.
The movie inches along at a deliberate and meditative-like pace as we see the incremental development of the 3 main characters: George Lonegan (Matt Damon), cursed with the ability to communicate with the dead, a boy in England who encounters death in his own family, and a French woman who dies and comes back to life, with occasional glimpses into her death experience, which is an all-knowing all-sensing state.
The highlights lie in the depth of the characters and not the special effects of the movie, although the visions/connections we see and the tsunami are certainly well done. Some nice comic relief moments are interspersed as well. We see Damon tormented and perplexed by his gift but all he desires is to lead a normal life, thus the catch-22 he faces. His character is guarded and protective, and we feel the pain of his desire to want to shed his Superman-like powers.
On the other hand the finale seems contrived, perhaps leaving the audience wanting more development. The script is weak and matter-of-fact and played a little too close to the line. During a good portion of the movie I sat in contemplative silence not really caring what happened to the characters, as the slowly-building plot line seemed to almost lead to nowhere, almost wondering "is this it?" I was not overly impressed with the London boy's acting, or the French gal's for that matter - a few of the supporting characters seemed much more believable, take for instance Damon's love interest in his cooking class.
Overall the tone of the film was somber and contemplative, thoughtful, and seemed to offer hope that we aren't alone and things always have a way of working out in the end. It's clear that all the main characters in the movie were looking for answers, and migrated in the direction their gut lead them. Some of the scenes couldn't end soon enough, and others had me at the edge of my seat reeling over what would happen next. A fairly predictable ending was lead up to by events that seemed to make sense in the context of the film.
I commend Eastwood for the variety of films he has been working on, and, while I don't believe this to be his finest work, it is certainly one of his (and the year's) most unique.
7/10 stars
The movie inches along at a deliberate and meditative-like pace as we see the incremental development of the 3 main characters: George Lonegan (Matt Damon), cursed with the ability to communicate with the dead, a boy in England who encounters death in his own family, and a French woman who dies and comes back to life, with occasional glimpses into her death experience, which is an all-knowing all-sensing state.
The highlights lie in the depth of the characters and not the special effects of the movie, although the visions/connections we see and the tsunami are certainly well done. Some nice comic relief moments are interspersed as well. We see Damon tormented and perplexed by his gift but all he desires is to lead a normal life, thus the catch-22 he faces. His character is guarded and protective, and we feel the pain of his desire to want to shed his Superman-like powers.
On the other hand the finale seems contrived, perhaps leaving the audience wanting more development. The script is weak and matter-of-fact and played a little too close to the line. During a good portion of the movie I sat in contemplative silence not really caring what happened to the characters, as the slowly-building plot line seemed to almost lead to nowhere, almost wondering "is this it?" I was not overly impressed with the London boy's acting, or the French gal's for that matter - a few of the supporting characters seemed much more believable, take for instance Damon's love interest in his cooking class.
Overall the tone of the film was somber and contemplative, thoughtful, and seemed to offer hope that we aren't alone and things always have a way of working out in the end. It's clear that all the main characters in the movie were looking for answers, and migrated in the direction their gut lead them. Some of the scenes couldn't end soon enough, and others had me at the edge of my seat reeling over what would happen next. A fairly predictable ending was lead up to by events that seemed to make sense in the context of the film.
I commend Eastwood for the variety of films he has been working on, and, while I don't believe this to be his finest work, it is certainly one of his (and the year's) most unique.
7/10 stars