"The Hereafter" is in the same genre as those other serious films Clint Eastwood started to do with "Unforgiven." It looks at conventional topics from odd angles and probes the insides of authentic people.
The film's two themes resonate as much of the population around the world ages. One theme is end of life issues. We visit a hospice and dead people who get to say what they wanted to say before they died.
The other theme is what might follow life as we know know it. Marcus's brother Jason is essentially the same person he had been as a young twin brother on the other side. He laughs a lot when he communicates with Marcus through medium George. The difference is that he's achieved wisdom. For instance, he instructs Marcus that he must take care of himself rather than depending on his twin who was 12 minutes older. As a symbol of that, Jason forbids him to continue wearing his cap.
As the themes play out, we meet authentic people or those made authentic by life channging experiences. They include, of course, Marcus, George, and the television anchor who dies in a tsunami and is brought back to life by bystanders. But, what's interesting is that Eastwood does not condemn the inauthentic, weak, and simply unaware. That's the grandeur of his vision. He understands human nature at its most normal.
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