After.Life

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after_life_2009

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It's a rare pleasure to come across a genre film that's both original and beautifully made. At one level it's a tightly made horror thriller with enough scares and creepy moments to keep the most ardent horror fan happy. But at another level it's also a thoughtful and provocative examination of what it's like to be dead -- or more importantly, what it's like to not be living. The film starts by following a young woman, Anna (Christina Ricci) trying to cope with her depression and a relationship that appears to be falling apart, and the local funeral director, Eliot (Liam Neeson) as he prepares for a funeral. The opening sets up a suspenseful inevitability that Anna's and Eliot's paths will soon cross. But it's when Anna has a car crash and wakes up on Eliot's slab that the film really kicks into high gear. Eliot calmly tells her she's dead and he's preparing her body for her funeral. Despite Anna's pleas that she's still alive, Eliot's chilling calmness convinces us that Anna is really dead. Eliot has a gift. He can talk to the dead to help them transition to the afterlife. It's a fascinating premise. A funeral director helping people come to terms with their death and the regrets of their life so they can be finally at peace and move on. Anna asks if she's ghost, and we sense that perhaps she is. That maybe ghosts are only transitory during the period between death and moving on to an afterlife. But as the film progresses, Eliot's behavior becomes more sinister. And as the film literally becomes darker, Eliot's motives become less clear. Is Anna really dead? Or is Eliot drugging her so she only thinks she's dead? The answer is surprisingly evasive. At one stage I thought she was definitely dead but then subtle clues made me think she was alive... and then 10 minutes later I was convinced again she was dead! The strength of the film is that you're never quite sure until the very end. The performances were incredible. Liam Neeson's looks were enough to send chills down my spine. An amazing actor. Christina Ricci was very convincing and very sexy! And Justin Long was surprisingly good in a serious role (although the film was also darkly humorous in places). A strong, intelligent story. Great performances. But it was the overall look that really blew me away. Beautiful colors and striking visuals -- especially with Anna in a vibrant red slip lying on a white slab in a cold gray room. Stunning! This unusual and very original film will not be to everyone's taste, but audiences who enjoy thoughtful, provocative film-making will be delighted to find something in the theaters that's not a gore-fest or comic book.

A waste of time. The story went absolutely nowhere. It was as if the intention of the movie was to frustrate the viewers and make them totally confused. It might be possible that by watching the movie a few times it goes from a 1/10 to perhaps a 2-3 but you can not expect anybody to dedicate that much time to understand a movie as horrible as this one. Liam Neeson is a great actor and does his part great though, but his character is poorly developed throughout the movie, something you could say about all of the other characters as well. My guess is that this movie looked promising as a script but that the director failed completely in transforming the script into a watchable movie.

A funeral director appears to have the gift of speaking to dead, and help with their passing to the either side. However, his latest work is a young female school teacher, but is she really dead or is he fulfilling a sick fantasy. Director Agnieszka Wojtowicz-Voslo's After-life is intriguing, thought provoking and original throughout. The stark style of filming is reminiscent of Body to Body (2003) aka "Corps à corps". While most of film centres around the character of Anna Taylor it is a wise casting choice by Matthew Lessall as beautiful Christina Ricci gives an emotional performance as a girl who's is not sure if she is dead or alive. Although, Ricci is on the mortuary slab and semi-* for most part of the film, comparably to Anna Falchi in Dellamorte Dellamore (1994), to Wojtowicz-Voslo's credit it's never in an explicit or over sexualized presentation. Liam Neeson is convincing as the mortician Eliot Deacon in a subtle performance where he communicates with the dead. He's creepy and cold, although not given a back story, his character has many layers. The tension between Neeson and Ricci is note-worthy and create some great moments. Die Hard 4 star Justin Long is average as Ricci's fiancée, as he doesn't have the convincing weight of the other players. However, Young Chandler Canterbury as the little boy Jack is memorable. The supporting cast are a mix of familiar face's including Josh Charles and Shuler Hensley and the other officers. Direction, lighting and music create an eerie atmosphere for this effective thriller mystery. There's horror too in the way of Anna Taylor's visions and Deacon working on the deceased prepping their bodies. Overall, simmering entertainment with a closing act to ponder over.

After a horrific car accident, Anna (Christina Ricci) wakes up to find the local funeral director Eliot Deacon (Liam Neeson) preparing her body for her funeral. Confused, terrified and feeling still very much alive, Anna doesn't believe she's dead, despite the funeral director's reassurances that she is merely in transition to the afterlife. Eliot convinces her he has the ability to communicate with the dead and is the only one who can help her. Trapped inside the funeral home, with nobody to turn to except Eliot, Anna is forced to face her deepest fears and accept her own death. But Anna's grief-stricken boyfriend Paul (Justin Long) still can't shake the nagging suspicion that Eliot isn't what he appears to be. Paul desperately tries to convince the local Police Chief (Josh Charles) that Anna's alive. But the more he investigates her death, the more they question his sanity. As the funeral nears, Paul gets closer to unlocking the disturbing truth, but it could be too late; Anna may have already begun to cross over the other side. After Life is a clever psychological thriller with a very creepy and mysterious atmosphere. The concept behind the story is very cool but the execution is definitely what made the film. Is Anna alive or is she dead? That is the big question of After Life and the film goes back and forth delivering several clues, some subtle, some not so much. And even though the film tries to be ambiguous, by the end, it's pretty clear what happened. Still, it will drive you crazy, in a good way of course. The film also poses some interesting questions regarding the nature of life forcing the viewer to reflect on his own existence. Liam Neeson did a good job and Christina Ricci was exceptional in her role. Justin Long however, was largely disappointing. Overall, it's nothing outstanding but definitely a very entertaining flick and the director was able to put a different spin on a often used concept. 6.5/10