We Go On (2016)
Matt Boiselle
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Starring Clark Freeman, Annette O’Toole, John Glover
Directed by Jesse Holland, Andy Mitton
The promise of life after death is certainly an intriguing one: do we pass through the pearly gates and reunite with loved ones who’ve also made the transition, or are we doomed to walk the Earth as another, made to right the wrongs that we committed in our own lives? Now that I’ve babbled enough about reincarnation and many other talk-show comings and goings, let’s delve into a film that poses that very interesting question: “what if?”
In We Go On, from co-directors Jesse Holland and Andy Mitton (who also co-wrote the chilling Yellowbrickroad a few years ago), the audience gets a front-seat view into the possibility of one character’s afterlife, and as the old saying goes, “careful what you wish for.” The lead man here is Miles Grissom (Freeman), a fairly sad individual who, forced by his own agoraphobic restrictions, works from home editing infomercials (seems pretty inspiring). His phobias are quite unrestrained, even excessive for the most part, and the non-allowance to even set foot outside his own domicile adds to the already inordinate fears he possesses. His biggest fear? Death. Not that it’s anything to sneeze at, but Miles looks at the fear and takes it one step further – to not only be frightened about the likelihood of your imminent demise, but to be even MORE stricken in dismay about where you’d go after you’ve kicked off…jeez, this guy needs some medication or something! His solution to the problem comes in the placement of a personal ad offering up 30 thousand dollars to anyone who can give him iron-clad proof that there is in fact life after death, and the responses he gets are nothing less than amusing.
From kooky mediums to professors calculating theories, and even his own mousy widow of a mom (O’Toole) – everyone is offering up differing ideologies, and subscriptions to their beliefs. It’s not until Miles meets airport runway maintenance-man Nelson (Jay Dunn), does he latch onto a seemingly sure foothold of what the afterlife may bring…only problem is, what he sees is lots and lots of dead people. The film, while a shade under 90 minutes, does take a bit of time to shift out of first gear, and when it does, we’re able to gain a bit of a broader view of the idea that Holland and Mitton are trying to convey. There are some generally frightening instances contained within the film, especially if you have a concern about where your soul is headed after your ticket gets punched. Freeman’s character can come off as a bit nauseating with all of the whimpering about fears and indispositions, but believability is one strong distinction that he manages to transmit with the role, and I’ve got to give him merit points for that.
Look, who knows what exists for us after we’re gone, but while we’re here, we might as well chill out and be entertained at what’s around us, and We Go On is a nice start to that road to eternity…needless to say, my future as a fortune-teller is as murky as a clogged-up toilet.
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Film
Categorized:Reviews
