Afterwards dazzles our screens

Just as the latest book by novelist Guillaume Musso is being printed, his debut publication has been adapted for cinema. The themes of the book are the author's favourites: death, the passing of time that can never be regained, life after death and, above all, love, which he depicts as unconditional and everlasting.

Nathan (Romain Duris) and Claire (Evangeline Lilly) seem to have been made for one another. Nathan saved Claire from drowning at the age of nine, but nearly died himself. The child was presumed dead but then, suddenly, turned his back on the light at the end of the tunnel and came back to life. Twenty years later, he has become one of the most brilliant lawyers in New York. However, his life has a bitter taste now that his wife Claire has left him. Silent suffering and a lack of communication got the better of their relationship, and while their love never wavered, it was not enough. At this propitious moment, the mysterious Doctor Kay (John Malkovich) turns up. Kay seems to have the power to predict upcoming deaths. This sets in motion a race against time for Nathan, who imagines that Doctor Kay has come to trick him and, in doing so, prepare for his own death. As he tries to get his life back on track, Nathan seems to gradually grasp the scale of his task.

This first cinema adaptation of a Guillaume Musso book could easily have lapsed into melodrama or become a romance staggering under a heavy weight of clichés, but this did not happen thankfully. Unlike the case of Marc Levy, who sold the soul of his moving debut novel "If Only It Were True" to the Hollywood machine, director Gilles Bourdos respects Musso's original novel, keeping its artistry intact. Romain Duris, John Malkovich and Evangeline Lilly make a huge impact, giving "Afterwards" the quality of an art house film through their simple, delicate performances, punctuated by silences that speak more than words. The pace is slow, but this allows each character to develop fully and benefit from the depth needed. This excellent film manages to mark out its own original path rather than simply follow in the footsteps of others that have gone before it.

The bonus section is less original, consisting of a fairly basic 27-minute making-of.