Evangeline as: Claire
Directed by: Gilles Bourdos
Written by: Michel Spinosa (screenplay), Gilles Bourdos (screenplay)
Release Date: 7 Sept2008  (TIFF), 27 Oct 2009  (DVD premiere)
Genre: Drama | Mystery | Thriller
MPAA Rating: PG
Language: English | French
Runtime: 107 Minutes

Newly divorced lawyer Nathan Del Amico is shaken up after he meets a doctor who claims that he can sense when select people are about to die. Though he doesn’t believe the doctor, events in Nathan’s life slowly make him think he’s not long for this world.

Film Cast

Romain Duris  …  Nathan
John Malkovich  …   Kay
Pascale Bussières  …  Anna
Sara Waisglass  …  Tracey
Reece Thompson  …  Jeremy
Bruno Verdoni …  Doctor
Joan Gregson  …  Mother in law

Film Media

• Videos: i heart evangeline; “Afterwards” videos in our video archive Stupendous
• Icons: i heart evangeline; “Afterwards” icons in our icon archive Aesthetically

Film Trivia

• This was Evangeline’s first feature film lead role (though The Hurt Locker premiered before this film, Afterwards was actually shot right before).
• To find the deep meaning of his film, director/co-writer Gilles Bourdos was inspired by a quote from former French President François Mitterrand, which translates to “Beauty is in the moment, which is something we always find out too late”.
• Gilles Bourdos was inspired to make a movie immediately upon reading Guillaume Musso’s novel.
• Film Goof: In the scene where Nathan approaches an ambulance from behind, his feet are reflected in the shiny metal at the bottom of the vehicle’s rear doors. Also reflected are the feet of the cameraman following him.
• The film had a budget on $15,400,000 (estimated).
• The film premiered on the Toronto international Film Festival in 2008.
• Earned €825,672 in the opening week.
• Was filmed in New Mexico, New York, Texas and Quebec Canada.

Film Quotes

- “You know, I think I have spent so much of my life contemplating mortality.  I was brought up in the church. I was never 100 percent convinced that what I was being told had to be the absolute truth. I believed that you had to work that out for yourself, so within the context that I was being raised, I was constantly questioning, and wondering, and asking, and searching my own soul. I had a very innate nature towards the spiritual, and the soul. I don’t know why. I don’t know where that comes from. But it’s always been there, and it’s still there. And I’m only 29. But 29 years of searching and wondering. And you eventually come to the place. It doesn’t matter what happened yesterday, it doesn’t matter what’s going to happen tomorrow. What matters is what you and I are doing right now. And are we happy? And are we having a good time? And if we are, then sod the rest. [LAUGHTER] “  (When asked if the film gave her a cause to pause about weighty issues like one’s mortality)

- “The character embodied so much of what I believe and also, because the script is speaking into things that are important to me. And there are not a lot of scripts that are brave enough to address the notion of an afterlife, of spirit, of God or death. Or – these are really heavy topics and most people want to be entertained, you know? They want to get caught up in high action, or high drama, or comedy. They don’t want to be challenged. I don’t want to do a film if it doesn’t challenge you.” (How the script spoke to her)

-

Film Reviews

Collider Review: As much as we like to imagine ourselves immortal, our lives on Earth are finite. No matter what fantastical stories suggest, a dark, cloaked figure won’t come out of the shadows and trade blood for immortality, and there’s no fountain that will bring us everlasting youth. Yet we live as immortals, driving fast and acting as though we have all the time of the world. But what if we knew that we didn’t; how would we change our lives? (Read full review here)

Independent Films Review: Likely to be criticized for its structural fallibility and its overly sentimental ruminations on the nature of existence and the anxieties involved with acknowledging mortality, Afterwards is a lyrical and occasionally beautiful visual poem that essentially crumbles under the weight of its own ambitions. The lack of relationship and character development between the leads ultimately keep the film from having the emotional impact it strives for—especially in an epilogue that should, in theory, have been devastating—regardless of the occasional graphic and unexpected violence towards children and well-intentioned players. On the upside, sincerity and a refreshingly ‘unhip’ atmosphere make these flaws substantially more palatable and forgivable. (Read full review here)

Many reviews by people who have seen the film can be read at Rotten Tomatoes here.

Film Links

- Afterwards’s IMDB profile
- Afterwards’s Wikipedia page
- Afterwards’s Official US site