88
New York Daily News by Jack Mathews
We're treated to two smashing performances from Morel and Blanc, and all of the mysteries raised before are satisfyingly resolved.
After Life (Après la vie)
Critic Rating
(read reviews)User Rating
- France,
- Belgium
- 2002
- · 123m
Director
Lucas Belvaux
Cast
Dominique Blanc,
Gilbert Melki,
Ornella Muti,
Catherine Frot,
François Morel,
Lucas Belvaux
Genre
Crime,
Drama
The final installment in director Lucas Belvaux's trilogy follows Pascal, a cop who sees a return to credibility in the capture of escaped convict Bruno--who in turn is harbored by Pascal's morphine-addicted wife Agnes. Pascal's already precarious ties to Agnes are strained further when he meets and falls for her fellow schoolteacher friend Cecile. With Pascal focused on Bruno and Cecile, Agnes is forced to find a fix on her own.
Stream After Life
We hate to say it, but we can't find anywhere to view this film.
What are critics saying?
83
Entertainment Weekly by Lisa Schwarzbaum
Genre-hoppers like Steven Soderbergh ought to love this neat triple doozy. [Note: From a review of the entire trilogy.]
80
Variety by David Stratton
It certainly wraps the trilogy on a very powerful, emotionally draining note. It's refreshing to see the precision and audacity with which Belvaux and his excellent cast succeed in imbuing the increasingly familiar story with completely new angles, insights and nuances.
80
Village Voice by Michael Atkinson
At its most contemplative, The Trilogy is a stirring and shrewd portrait of lives lived in oblivious parallel. [Note: From a review of the entire trilogy.]
80
The New Yorker by Anthony Lane
What we glean from Belvaux’s trilogy is the reassurance (rare on film, with its terror of inattention) that people are both important and unimportant, and that heroes and leading ladies, in life as in art, can fade into extras before our eyes. [Note: From a review of the entire trilogy.] [2 February 2004, p. 94]
70
The Hollywood Reporter
The strongest film.
63
New York Post by Jonathan Foreman
The very effectiveness of After the Life's depiction of its main characters makes its immediate predecessor seem that much more of a waste.
60
The New York Times by Dana Stevens
Mr. Belvaux's sensitive, generous way with actors suggests that, with more discipline and less gimmickry, he might have made a single masterwork, and After the Life provides the best support for this assessment.
60
TV Guide Magazine by Ken Fox
Belvaux is no Douglas Sirk, but the film is an admirable, if uneven, conclusion to an audacious project.
60
The A.V. Club by Scott Tobias
Doesn't function nearly as well as a standalone piece, mainly because it's stuck with the thankless task of mopping up after the other two.
Loading recommendations...
Loading recommendations...