Here After

The plotline was promising and novel: a dysfunctional bachelor must find his soulmate after he's already died. Production values were surprisingly high for this low-budget film. The biggest problem was an amateurish script that was intermittently predictable, redundant and woefully inadequate. The movie would also have benefitted from a male lead with more charisma and authenticity. Christina Ricci was fine.

A funny, quirky, Indie allegory for modern love in the city. If you can accept the tongue-in-cheek premise that you must have a soul mate to pass into the afterlife, you'll get the analogy of what it so often feels like to be single in the modern world.

I saw the film when it premiered Cinequest in San Jose as 'Faraway Eyes'. Then Covid hit and the marketing of the movie was paused. Now, re-named, 'Here After', the movie is a charming date-night flick and I'm glad to see it getting the wider release it deserves.

The movie isn't BIG budget, but if you like Indie movies that aren't plastic-wrapped predictable big studio movies, then 'Here After' is worth your time.

This is a novel concept for a story, when you die you remain in a type of limbo until you find a real soul mate among the other dead "single" people. The problem is the script, it is written by an amateur who has little imagination for interesting dialog. As a result he frequently tosses in disingenuous dialog and vulgar language as if that would make it seem edgy.

The current rating of 5 out of 10 is about right, it is somewhat substandard compared to other movies. But for me the high point easily was Christina Ricci who plays Scarlett, a soul who greets the newly deceased and tells them what their task it.

My wife and I watched it at home, streaming on Amazon. Except for the lackluster script and too much talking during most of the middle, we actually enjoyed the viewing. In fact it has many of the elements of a Hallmark story. The concept, in the hands of a more accomplished script writer, could have been an excellent movie.

10/10? Not a chance. The film starts with a 4 minute monologue from the protagonist Michael (played by Andy Karl) as he sets up his backstory to the audience. This is a critical component of the film, almost a litmus test, because you need to decide right away if your idea of entertainment is having Karl's voice in your ear for the next 2 hours. If not, stop right there. If you are OK with it, then writer/director Harry Greenberger will offer a film which looks and feels more like a stageplay; and, if you get to the end, will offer you some insights on the real nature of LOVE. The entire production screams LOW BUDGET INDIE, suggesting that "Hereafter" (orig. Released as "Faraway Eyes") is more of a watch-on-an-overseas-flight film than anything else. Only Ricci shines -- she literally never gives an uninteresting performance. Those fake 10/10 reviews are demeaning to the production and the audience both.

Basically a similar story to Ghost. The actors did an alright job with the material they were given. You'll see a lot of little mistakes (e.g. Smoking in a New York restaurant in 2020). The average 5 rating is pretty accurate. It's definitely a chick flick though.