After.Life (2009)

After a car accident, a young woman who is caught between life and death, meets a funeral director who appears to have the gift of transitioning the dead into the afterlife.

Director:

Agnieszka Wojtowicz-Vosloo

Writers:

Agnieszka Wojtowicz-Vosloo, Paul Vosloo

Stars:

Christina Ricci, Liam Neeson, Justin Long

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christina Ricci	...	Anna Taylor
Liam Neeson	...	Eliot Deacon
Justin Long	...	Paul Coleman
Chandler Canterbury	...	Jack
Celia Weston	...	Beatrice Taylor
Luz Alexandra Ramos	...	Diane (as Luz Ramos)
Josh Charles	...	Tom Peterson
Rosemary Murphy	...	Mrs. Whitehall
Malachy McCourt	...	Father Graham
Shuler Hensley	...	Vincent Miller
Alice Drummond	...	Mrs. Hutton
Sam Kressner	...	Acne Kid
Doan Ly	...	Teacher #1
Jack Rovello	...	Tall Kid
Prudence Wright Holmes	...	Old Woman #1

Storyline

After a horrific car accident, Anna (Ricci) wakes up to find the local funeral director Eliot Deacon (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 (Long) still can't shake the nagging suspicion that Eliot isn't what he appears to be. 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.

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Plot Keywords:

breath on mirror | female star appears nude | female full frontal nudity | buried alive | engagement ring | 

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Taglines:

Life is the symptom. Death is the cure.

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for nudity, disturbing images, language and brief sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 August 2010 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

After Life

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$59,946, 11 April 2010, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$108,229, 30 April 2010

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,606,395, 14 August 2011

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lleju Productions, Harbor Light Entertainment, Plum Pictures

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Alfred Molina was originally cast as Eliot, but was replaced by Liam Neeson.

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Goofs

Despite the fact that Deacon had dyed Anna's hair brunette, it is back to red when she is in the coffin.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Eliot Deacon: It's time now. You're absolutely beautiful for your funeral.
[crossing his hands]
Eliot Deacon: It's as if you were still alive. Just sleeping. This is how they're all going to remember you.

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Soundtracks

Piano Trio in E-flat Major, Op. 100, D. 929
Composed by Franz Schubert
Performed by Julie McBride
Recorded at Clubhouse
Played near the end, when Deacon puts it on while sitting in his car

User Reviews

Memorable

I saw After.Life over a week ago at AFI. Normally I don't add comments or even vote on IMDb (laziness being the main reason) but this film has stuck in my head more than any film I saw at AFI or AFM (or in fact any film I've seen in the last year).

On the surface it's a genre film and all the genre elements are there - it's scary, creepy and very chilling. But it's much more than that. It deconstructs the genre with both humor and respect. The director is obviously a genre fan, and shows respect for the genre conventions while poking gentle fun at it.

And as a genre piece it works extremely well. There's a forbidding menace hanging over every scene that gets deep under your skin. Liam Neeson as the Funeral Director is tremendous and makes the duality of the character very believable. Justin Long is also a revelation - he can do serious acting! But overall I think it's the message of the film that stays in your head. What does it mean to be dead? And most importantly, what does it mean to be alive?