Line #12 Film/Hereafter


1	[[quoteright:270:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hereafter_movie_poster_7517.jpg]]
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3	A 2010 supernatural drama directed by Creator/ClintEastwood and produced by Creator/StevenSpielberg. It follows three parallel storylines involving people who have been touched by death in one way or another, and their search for meaning in what may or may not be the afterlife.
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5	Creator/MattDamon stars as George, a man who has PsychicPowers (he can communicate with the dead) and was once a celebrity, but [[IJustWantToBeNormal prefers a blue-collar life in a factory]]. Cecile de France plays a reporter who is badly injured in the Indian tsunami of 2004 and suffers a NearDeathExperience. Later, she finds herself obsessed with the afterlife and is unable to work. Frankie and George [=McLaren=] play a young London boy whose twin brother dies in a tragic accident and tries to find a way to communicate with him.
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7	The movie doesn't actually answer any questions about the afterlife, and has often been called more of a movie about why people ''want'' there to be an afterlife.
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9	----
10	!!This film includes examples of:
11	* AbusiveParents: [[spoiler:Melanie was abused by her father when she was younger]].
12	* AsHimself: Creator/DerekJacobi appears as himself at a literary festival and also as the voice of an audiobook, doing readings of Creator/CharlesDickens.
13	* AMindIsATerribleThingToRead: A major reason why George considers his psychic abilities to be a curse rather than a gift. Imagine accidentally discovering the girl who you've been flirting with [[spoiler:was sexually abused by her father]]. BlessedWithSuck, indeed.
14	* BlessedWithSuck: George certainly appears to see himself this way, for very good reason (see directly above).
15	* {{Determinator}}: [[spoiler:Marcus waits outside George's hotel for ''hours'' just so he can get a reading done.]]
16	* EverythingIsOnline: Marcus discovers George's old website [[spoiler:and later recognizes him at the literary fair.]]
17	* FlatEarthAtheist: Notably averted. One of the scientists Marie visits during her research into Near Death Experiences is an avowed atheist who nevertheless believes in an afterlife.
18	* GoingForTheBigScoop: {{Averted}}. While she ''is'' a reporter, Marie is caught in the tsunami because she wants to buy presents for her boyfriend/producer's children, and later can't function at her job because she keeps daydreaming about her NearDeathExperience.
19	%%* HyperlinkStory
20	%%* IJustWantToBeNormal: George, oh so very much.
21	* ImagineSpot: [[spoiler:George's kiss with Marie at the end. Or was that precognition?]]
22	%%* ISeeDeadPeople: George again.
23	* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane:
24	** A variation. The movie never goes out and ''says'' that George is communicating with the dead. Since he only tells people things they already know, [[EpilepticTrees some people have speculated]] that he's really only reading people's memories of their loved ones (which would still be "magic", but maybe ''closer'' to "mundane") and then telling them what they want to hear.
25	** Telepathy rather than spirit communication is an actual paranormal theory in regards to alleged mediums.
26	* MeetCute: George meets Melanie when they are teamed up together during an Italian cooking class.
27	* NearDeathExperience: Marie has one at the beginning of the film.
28	* NeverTrustATrailer: The movie was marketed as a supernatural thriller in the vein of ''Film/TheSixthSense''. It is closer to a slowly meditative drama.
29	* NiceGuy: George is a friendly, mild-mannered guy who uses his powers to help people where he can.
30	* ParentalAbandonment: Marcus's mother goes into rehab just after her son dies, leaving Marcus in foster care.
31	* PhonyPsychic: Marcus goes to a few while trying to communicate with his brother.
32	* TerribleIntervieweesMontage: The phony psychics.
33	* TwoLinesNoWaiting: ''Three'' lines, actually. All three storylines get equal screen time, and end up intersecting at the end,

Context Film / Hereafter