Dr Chris Neilsen and his brilliant artist wife Annie Collins have it all. The fairy-tale ‘meet cute’ which turned into a decades long marriage with two wonderful children, Ian and Marie.
Sadly Ian and Marie are killed in a car accident, and then four years later Chris too is killed in another tragic accident. As he travels through the afterlife – he discovers that Annie has taken her own life – and is somewhere ‘between heaven and hell’.
Risking his own eternity, he travels literally through hell to bring her back with him to heaven.
Direction
Well directed by Vincent Ward (who seemingly has stopped making films since 2008), with beautiful uses of colours in the ‘heavenly afterlife’ and intense darker tones for the ‘hell like’ parts.
Cast/Characters
The late great Robin Williams plays Chris, in one of his most dramatic roles.
Annabella Sciorra plays Annie, his wife. She is breathtaking as the woman who loses both her children, then her husband – selling the grief the character is going through
Cuba Gooding Jr, plays “Albert” – Chris’ guide through heaven, and a ‘younger version’ of his mentor from when he was an intern.
Max Von Sydow plays “The Tracker” – who takes Chris from “heaven into hell” to get Annie back.
Other stars who need mention are Josh Paddock as Ian, Jessica Brooks Grant as Marie and Rosalind Cho as “Leona” another guide helping Chris on his arrival in heaven.
Breakdown
This was an incredibly hard film to watch due to the subject matter. The life after death, the imagery of both heaven and hell, and then the notion of what happens to su!cdes – due to what would happen to WIlliams a couple of decades later… makes this even harder to watch in 2025.
The cast really do sell the story, Chris and Annie are clearly soulmates – who have ‘it all’ – the happy marriage, the ‘nuclear’ family with the pigeon pair kids. Even through some well written non linear narrative (where their lives are shown in a series of flashbacks) there is even real struggles (Ian’s schooling, and the father daughter times between Chris and Marie).
The ‘afterlife’ in which Chris is guided through by “Albert” – a younger version of his first mentor when he was an intern is visually stunning with use of colours.
Chris even ‘goes into the mind’ of Annie as she begins to paint post his death – and enters her paintings (the purple tree etc). The revelation that “Albert” is actually Ian guiding him through is a nice touch – and adds to the emotion.
This of course is bookended by co guide Leona’s revelation that she is actually Marie, and then Sydow’s Tracker, revealing he is ‘actually’ the real Albert. I was okay with the kids ‘revelation’ but the Tracker’s was a little tacked on and just made for another “emotional” moment for Chris when he’s already gone through so much!
While the heaven imagery is stunning, the hell imagery is quite frightening and in your face with a version of hell you surely hope doesn’t exist. The set designs are incredible, and quite breathtaking in the ‘between’ area too.
Chris’ ability to bring Annie back (as she has lost memories of life following her su!cide) is due to their own secret code. The ‘double D’ that they talk about is the decision to stay together following the deaths of their children (and not divorce).
I found the “happy ending” that brings the family back together in heaven – and then Chris and Annie’s decision to ‘go back’ and do it all again silly.
I quite enjoyed the late Michael Kamen’s score, and thought it did justice to the film.
Overall
This was a conflicted film for me, I’ve read a few reviews on it where some well established reviewers gave it near perfect and others gave it near zero.
As mentioned, this is an incredibly hard film to watch (especially now as a parent. Some of the themes, and story-points (what happens to people when they unalive themselves) are incredibly difficult to watch, especially given the way Mr Williams passed.
This does get a recommend from me due to the performances of those involved, the direction and score. But it is hard to watch in light of events that have occurred since the film was made.
3.5/5
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