"Fill every nerve with tension." It did not fill every nerve with tension, but with boredom. The only way to know about a movie that goes directly to video is from the box, and the information on the box was misleading. I know you can't judge a book by its cover, but the marketing department either had no idea what they were talking about or they just simply lied. This was billed as a fast-paced thriller (as indicated from the smoking gun) on the cover. It was not a fast-paced thriller, but a deliberately paced character study of a high-powered lawyer who had a near death experience as a boy, which only plays in the next to last scene of the movie. The lawyer meets a man who claims to be able to see when people are going to die; this is not the story, although the box suggests the story revolves around the relationship of the two men. It's not. It's about the lawyer re-examining his life, which should lead to a character arc. Instead, there's a character dump in the last scene. The movie is based on a French novel and has great acting (except for the lead; his one expression gets very tiresome), wonderful music, direction and cinematography, but it goes on about 20 minutes too long. The book probably answers the questions that the film raises, but doesn't develop. And the title "Afterward" should have been changed since it has very little to do with the afterlife, but with life and its end at death. But this film should have been promoted as a drama of life and death as it pertains to a successful lawyer and the events in his life instead of a "fast paced thriller" that will "fill every nerve with tension" because that is not this film. If you have some time to kill, it's an okay view as long as you know what you're watching; a dramatic character study with its share of problems. Otherwise, stay away.