After.Life

Starring: Christina Ricci, Liam Neeson, Justin Long, Chandler Canterbury, Celia Watson
Directed by: Agnieszka Wojtowicz-Vosloo
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Thriller
2010

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: After a car accident, a woman (Christina Ricci) wakes up in a funeral home. She meets the funeral director (Liam Neeson), who tells her that she has died, and that he has a special ability that allows him to speak to the dead. At first, she does not believe him, but slowly starts to wonder whether she really is alive or dead.

Review:

Tim: After.Life is a strange movie- a film that plays with the whole "alive or dead" conceit that so often comes up in movies lately. This film tries to give a new spin on that whole idea, and to some extent, succeeds. Sadly, the rest of the movie is such a muddled mess that it doesn't really matter. I couldn't bring myself to like this movie. It disappointed me quite a bit.

I will admit that the film does ask a big, important question- Is Christina Ricci's character alive or dead? This central question is what the whole film is based around, and the movie does a good job of giving us evidence to support both conclusions. At various points in the film, I was convinced for both possibilities. While this question is interesting, there's just enough enough in the film to maintain that interest level for the full 97 minutes. My attention would ebb and flow, and that's not very good. Ultimately, I was interested to find out the answer, but I didn't really care all that much.

The cast suffers some because of the script. Christina Ricci is good in the lead role, but sadly, her part mostly called for her to look sleepy and lay around completely naked. This was a bizarre role. Ricci was good, but the wish she had more to do, and more close ups so she could connect with the audience through her facial expressions. There wasn't enough of that. Liam Neeson was quite good also, playing the part ambiguous enough so that we don't know what to think about him. Is he a savior, or a demon? I enjoyed him, but the script really held him back. Justin Long was fine, but I don't believe he added a great deal to the film.

This movie was problematic because it didn't do enough to keep us engaged. I'm not trying to suggest this film was a train wreck- it simply didn't do enough to keep the audience interested. The central mystery ensures that we maintain some level of focus. However, the film is ultimately unsatisfying. The conclusion isn't necessarily interesting or unique. I shrugged at it. There needed to be a bigger payoff. After.Life (stupid title, by the way) doesn't do enough to make us care or to make the whole journey worthwhile. I didn't hate this movie, but I certainly didn't like it, either.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 5.5



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