Life is short, death eternal, and Clint Eastwood's "Hereafter" lies somewhere in between. The film starts off with a bang — a tsunami hitting a Thai resort town, a psychic contacting the dead in San Francisco, and a street mugging turning into accidental death on a tough London street. It then moves slowly but surely into a state of solemn gravitas so deep that you'll be inclined to check your pulse.
"Hereafter" focuses on three characters, and what happens when death impinges a little too closely on their lives. George (Matt Damon) is a dock worker in San Francisco who has a strange, paranormal ability to hear messages from the dead; he used to work as a professional psychic, but spending too much time in the spirit realm was wearing him down. While his brother Billy (Jay Mohr) insists he has "a gift" — and that they should make a buck on it — George sees it as more of a curse.
Marcus (George McLaren) is a young boy living on a London council estate, whose mother (Lyndsey Marshal) is a hopeless junkie. He relies on his twin brother, Jason (Frankie McLaren), for support, and when Jason is suddenly killed, Marcus is set hopelessly adrift. Desperate to maintain a link, he wears his brother's cap day and night, and starts researching psychics and seers who can help him contact Jason on the other side.