Greetings!
I’ve been engaged with other matters for a bit, but here I am shiny and new like a sturgeon.
Briefly, I suggest you take a long peek at Hereafter, Clint Eastwood’s latest film. No, there is no gun play; nothing remotely western-like; and there are really no tough guys. However, an achingly beautifully photographed Paris, Charles Dickens, and opera all figure into a triptych about death and wondering about the afterlife.
With the notable exception of a glowing NYT review, the film has generally met a lukewarm, mystified response from many critics. To my way of thinking, Hereafter like, Gran Torino, might be unexpected to some, but it’s yet another installment in the astonishingly rich oeuvre of Mr. Eastwood. As usual in his most recent films, the music, written by Eastwood himself, is wonderful. As well, the opening scene of a natural disaster in an Asian getaway and and the grand visual shock of a terrorist attack in London bear the influence of the film’s executive producer, Steven Spielberg, to great effect. Clint Eastwood is a great artist who continues to renew his vision entering his ninth decade.