"Hereafter" Star Cecile DeFrance Talks About Clint Eastwood's New Film (Opening Oct. 22nd)

Clint Eastwood's new film "Hereafter" will be in theaters October 22nd. It had its Chicago premiere at the 46th Annual Chicago Film Festival on Thursday, October 14th, with the female lead, Cecile DeFrance, (introduced by television film critic Richard Roper), conducting a Q&A session afterwards.

The first thing mentioned in reviews is that the film is "a departure" from Eastwood's normal films. Clint, himself, in an interview with "Extra" on October 13, 2010, said, "I think everything is a departure. I know in the old days there were guys who went back and redid things, but I don't think that would be me. When I'm done with a story, I'm on to something else."

"Hereafter" is about life after death and the experiences of three people in 3 separate story lines; all the characters ultimately meet at the London Book Fair where the story culminates. First, there is the character played by Matt Damon, George Lonegan, a psychic who gave up communicating with the dead to work as a laborer in a C&H Cane Sugar Factory.

Why did George give up his lucrative work as a practicing psychic, a paid communicator with the dead, or, as the film dubs some, "a senior sensitive?" Because, as scripted by Peter Morgan, "A life that's all about death is no life at all." When Damon's brother Billy (played by stand-up comic Jay Mohr), urges his younger brother to get back in the business of communicating with the other side as a service to grieving friends and relatives, Lonegan responds, "It's not a gift, Billy; it's a curse. It ruins any chance I have at a normal life. I feel like a freak." We see this come true in a story arc with Ron Howard's daughter Bryce Dallas Howard ("The Village"). There is also the set of male twins in England, one of whom is desperate for George Lonegan's "Sixth Sense" talent of communicating with the departed. The young boy serves as pivotal trigger for a romantic subplot near film's end.

Because there were three main story lines, it worked out for Damon to be able to play the male lead. The film's structure allowed Damon to work with Eastwood for the second time since his Oscar-nominated turn in "Invictus." Damon underplays the tortured psychic nicely; there is Oscar buzz for this role and this film, as well.

As Eastwood told "Extra" on October 13th, he planned to start shooting in November, but Damon was not available until January. Damon said, humorously, during an October 13, 2010 "Extra" interview, "There was a lot of begging on my part." When Eastwood realized that he had 3 separate story lines to shoot (one in San Francisco, one in London, and one, involving Cecile DeFrance, that involved the 2004 tsunami that killed 230,000 people in 14 countries, most famously Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and India,--- Eastwood realized he could shoot around Damon's story line until January and still be able to use him in the part.

The opening scene is the tsunami sequence. It is as gripping as the airplane crash sequence in Tom Hanks' "Cast Away." (Steven Spielberg is listed as an executive producer of "Hereafter"). There was an "eye" shot during the flood catastrophe that reminded of Janet Leigh's shower scene in "Psycho." The sheer terror of being swept away in such a cataclysmic event is gripping.

That's when Cecile's character of Marie LeLay begins to see shadowy figures that seem to represent those who have passed over to another dimension. In researching it, writing about it, and consulting with Marthe Keller's character of Dr. Rousseau, a doctor at a hospice and an expert in near-death experiences, Marie (Cecile) is told, "I think you experienced death." Dr. Rousseau (Keller, who appeared in "Bobby Deerfield" and "Marathon Man" in the 70s) says, "The evidence is irrefutable. Perhaps someone like you can change the perception. I hope you can."

Cecile DeFrance, who traveled with the film to promote it in Chicago, was asked if she had done the opening tsunami scenes herself and answered, "Yes, it was me. We did it in one week. They built a big tank in Pinewood with 2 parts: a green screen part and a water part. The third part was done in Hawaii. Clint was on the beach directing. He hates to do that -- to be too far away to do direction. He jumped in the water with us. There was just the little girl (who drowns), a cameraman, the 1st Assistant Director and myself. They had 4 days of preparation for the scenery. I was scared, because I had to use oxygen, and I was crying. I was 10 meters down for the drowning scene. I was not comfortable. Then, a nice English man said, 'We can do it without oxygen.' He asked me if I could just hold my breath long enough. It was thrilling when I saw the film." The scene is thrilling, and Cecile is riveting in it; the visual effects by Michael Owens ring true.

Added Cecile DeFrance, "My response to the film was to the story, because it's a real story and that's what I thought worked -- It was a very interesting character for me. At the beginning, she is a strong, realistic businesswoman. Then, she changes. For me, it was also exciting to play someone who shared with the audience her interest in life after death. It is hard to find the words and everyone thinks she is crazy, but she will profit from it. It is like a journey of self-discovery. And, because she is becoming more mature, she changes.

Cecile DeFrance has won 2 Cesars in France: Most Promising Newcomer and Best Actress. She is excellent in the film, as are all the well-drawn characters. There is a symbolic use of the works (and words) of Charles Dickens (listened to on tape by Damon) that runs throughout the film, with Dickens lines like "a hopeless consequence of all I had lost" and "believing that it might be his destiny to come back again," spoken by real narrator Derek Jacobi, underscoring the film's theme. George Lonegan is a fanatical Dickens fan (he eventually is shown viewing a painting known as "Dickens' dream" during a tour of Dickens' home.)
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Marie LeLay's experience during the tsunami makes Cecile's character a believer in life after death to the point that, urged by her boyfriend to take some time off and write a book, she writes the book "Hereafter" (even though her boyfriend at the time voices his opinion of death this way: "The lights go out. That's it.") Another line from the film, however, providing counterpoint, is, "Death is not final. It is merely the beginning." There is talk of "gateways" and yet another Internet voice says, "The Angel of God will find you."

For the third time this week, I listened as actors who have worked for or with Clint Eastwood (Forest Whitaker, Matt Damon, Cecile DeFrance) talked enthusiastically about what a relaxed, easy environment exists on his film sets. Cecile, for instance, said, "At the beginning, when I knew it was me (who got the part), I asked, 'Do I play in English or in French?' Clint told me, 'You can translate yourself." Everything you heard, it's my words. The other good thing, Clint Eastwood trusted me so much because he doesn't speak French at all. The lines when I talk about Mitterand are all mine. He just trusted me. I saw rushes and said, 'It's a good thing.' (Laughs) I felt as free as a bird when he trusted his cast. I auditioned for him and it was only one round. Once he had chosen me, he trusted me."

This cooperative trust and collaborative spirit for and with his cast and crew was mentioned repeatedly. Damon told "Extra" on October 13th, "It's a very relaxed environment to work in." Forest Whitaker also told the audience at the Black Perspectives Tribute in Chicago (on Saturday, October 9th) much the same thing (see previous Forest Whitaker article on Associated Content).

Eastwood's method of shooting quickly in a few takes is legendary. Ms. DeFrance said, "We filmed in Belgium. I really enjoy to do it like that (i.e., in just a few takes). On the set, he says, 'It's your turn now.' Clint would say, "Okay. Okay. Do the scene." Richard Roper interrupted Ms. DeFrance with the facetious comment, "Who wants to argue with Clint Eastwood?" Cecile DeFrance said, enthusiastically, "I could die for Clint Eastwood."

Cecile was asked if her own faith was affected by the role. Her response: "It's almost like I arrived at the end of my journey with as many questions as I started with. For me, that (death) is part of life, so I don't care. After that, it is more about accepting that there are mysteries. Of course, it opened my mind. Perhaps science will integrate the near-death experiences, but I like the fact that we cannot control everything. It is a film of loneliness, of hope. The film doesn't give an answer."

Cecile was asked if she sat down with Eastwood to discuss her part. Her response: "Because he's an actor, he knows the process. The subject is very personal. He is more in the present. When we are shooting, we don't need to intellectualize this sort of thing."

Ms. DeFrance was asked if the characters she plays continue to live in her consciousness after she has finished with a part. She responded, "My work is my passion since the age of 6. When my work is over, I need to create new space for a new character. It's like luggage. I don't bring all those characters along in my life. I need to be free to be a good woman, a good mother. It's too much after each experience to keep them all inside me."

The film is being praised critically. That praise reaches beyond the acting to extend to 80-year-old Director Eastwood (who may or may not be pondering his own mortality at this point in his long career). "Extra" asked Clint if he saw some of himself in the 40-year-old Damon. He said, "A little bit. It's fun to watch guys come along, the new generation of people, because my generation was Steve McQueen and Paul Newman, people like that. Before that, it was Bogart, Gary Cooper and those guys. So now, this is the next generation."

The new generation of both actors and critics seems to have nothing but praise for the multi-talented Eastwood today (although critic Pauline Kael, back in the day, was not nearly as kind to Eastwood.) Richard Roper led off the evening's discussion by calling "Hereafter" "a very powerful film." Additionally, he referred to Clint Eastwood as "a giant of filmmaking," saying, "You don't expect the 'Man with No Name' or 'Dirty Harry' to do a film like this. You'd never think it."

Matt Damon in the October 13th "Extra" interview seemed to sum up 2010's opinion of Actor/Writer/Director/Musician/Renaissance Man Clint Eastwood this way: "It's the model for the career that we all want. Act. Write. Direct. Produce. Compose. Do it for as long as you can. That's the dream for all of us."

(SOURCES: October 14, 2010 showing of "Hereafter" at the 46th Annual Chicago Film Festival with Q&A following moderated by Richard Roper with Cecile DeFrance; www.wikipedia for tsunami facts; October 13, 2010 "Extra" television interview with Matt Damon and Clint Eastwood.)