Faraway - Liebe nach dem Leben

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.

The writing, the music, the trying-to-be-dramatic scenes-- they just did not feel genuine. There were a few good moments, but overall it dragged on. The portrayal of what romance or falling in love is was disappointing, and the characters' behavior and choices toward the end of the movie will leave you mumbling at the screen "why don't you just..."

It was mildly entertaining, and maybe if you relate to the main character (and I'm sorry if you do) you'd enjoy it more, but it would only be on my watchlist if I'm really getting the the bottom of the barrel.

1 - That Actors (Writers and Filmmakers) constantly do stories about, well Actors and themselves. They are way too impressed with themselves and think they are interesting enough for the rest of us to care about these endless expressions of being, well, Actors.

2 - New Yorkers constantly do stories about, well New Yorkers and themselves. They are way too impressed with themselves and think they are interesting enough for the rest of us to care about these endless expressions of being, well, New Yorkers -- otherwise, with the ability to pretty much blink themselves to another place, why in the hell would they stay there? Being in NY city for a possible eternity is in itself, close enough to being in hell!

3 - Short sighted people really do believe that the foolishness we live on this plane, carry on throughout the entire universe on all levels of existence. How can anything be so short-sighted?

4 - That men who have no ability to communicate in life will be equally as daft and absurd in an afterlife, and still make zero sense! Dear God let's hope not.

5 - That childish, misogynistic screenwriters will still be calling grown women 'girls' even in the afterlife, and not have graduated to any new level of understanding or respect. Again, Dear God let's hope not.

6 - That mediocre filmmakers can still get funding for mediocre films, while too many brilliant filmmakers struggle unfairly and ridiculously to get their films done.

7 - That grown men are still fascinated with sneaking peaks at naked women in inappropriate places as if they are grown-ups, when in fact they are just simple-minded pre-adolescent boys.

8 - That the logic you create in a film, no matter how implausible, can then become even more implausible when you change your own logic from scene to scene.

9 - That well known actors like Christina Ricci will deliver any kind of idiotic lines given to her. I guess that is a professional, huh?

10 - That Writer/Director Harry Greenberger has big time connections, and we pray he becomes a better filmmaker.

11 - That the Music Director has a promising future as does the Cinematographer, hopefully.

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.

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.