I know I am beginning to sound like a broken record, but 2022 was a great year for movies. And this “late” addition (in the US, it premiered in September and in the UK in November) only underlines my previous statement with a bold pen. The most extraordinary thing about Aftersun is that if you were to describe it to somebody, it would probably sound like the most boring movie of all time. And it is anything but that.
Let’s have an exercise, shall we? Imagine if somebody tries to pitch you a film, saying: “It’s handheld footage of somebody’s holiday in Turkey. But nobody gets kidnapped; it’s a very simple story about a dad and his daughter.” You would (quite rightly) say: “Wait, that’s it?” And effectively, yes, that is it. Aftersun is as raw of a movie as they come, but because of its rawness, it hits you hard in certain moments. This film is one of those movies that will make you feel a certain way, and you may not even realise why you are feeling like it. You may not fully understand what happens at the end (because it is left to your interpretation on purpose), and the final scene will still hit you hard. You will also not be able to hear the song “Under Pressure” by Queen ft. David Bowie without thinking about Aftersun. That is how powerful this “little movie that could” is.
You might ask: “Hey, why are you calling this little movie?” Well, the budget was (probably) so minuscule I can’t even find an estimated one; the whole film is effectively about two people, the rest are “glorified extras”, and because of its premise, it’s shot in a very “amateurish” manner. That might sound like I am criticising the film, but no, far from it. It takes balls to take (what I can presume was) a little amount of money and for someone to have a clear idea of the story you want to tell and tell it in this beautifully raw, emotional way. Also, I have seen too many movies to know that the “amateurish” nature was far from it; the shots always served the story and never felt random. It takes a lot of talent to make something look amateurish, and Charlotte Wells nailed it. Aftersun is not only her feature debut as a director but also as a writer. And holy fuck, she nailed it out of the park.
The main reason this film resonated with me so much was how genuine it felt at every moment. There was a real “dad/daughter” chemistry between Paul Mescal and Frankie Corio (more about them soon), so you already won half of the battle. The rest was the story and whether it delivers everything you, as a director/writer, want it to deliver. And holy shit did it ever. I loved how Aftersun played around with the idea of memory and how fragile and unreliable it can be. Without spoiling anything, there are scenes where you think to yourself: “What is happening?” And as the film slowly peels every layer it has to offer, that is the moment you have to actively go back and replay some of those moments back and think about what you saw. It’s not a spoiler to say most of this film takes place in the past as Sophie (the daughter) reflects on/remembers this specific holiday she had with her dad.
And this is why Aftersun went full-on genius for me. You never get any hints as to why. Why does she go back to this holiday? Did anything meaningful happen before or after it? Was this their last holiday? Is her dad still alive? If he is, does that mean they had a falling out? If he isn’t, what happened? And the more you dive into the hints, you can make any theory you wish. There are no straight answers; everything is left up to you, so you can interpret it any way you see fit. You might have seen me, in the past, critiquing this very thing, not giving your audience enough to grasp. But no, you won’t hear me complaining about it here because there is a difference. Aftersun isn’t interested in “what”; it wants you to stop and think about “why”? You can almost imprint any of the past experiences you might have had with somebody in your past, and it would have worked because that is the purpose of this film. In its complexity, it’s relatable. And not “annoyingly relatable”, like that one person we all know who wants to relate to anything and anybody and fails. We all have had some relationships fall apart, whether it was family, friends or partners, and this movie acts almost as a catalyst for you. And I would argue it should also showcase to you that no matter how great you think your memory is, it can’t be trusted that much.
Let’s talk about the main stars, Paul and Frankie. As I have alluded to, they had the chemistry needed for you to believe these two were father and daughter. But on its own, that would still not be enough to carry this film, so they had to bring their A-game. And they both had. I wouldn’t be surprised if Charlotte Wells told them their backstory and “future”, gave them the arc we didn’t get as they both perform every scene with honesty, and never once you question why they are acting the way they are. I will give you a specific example of why I think Paul managed to get that Oscar nomination – his character is very complex. Think about it; he needs to play this cool, relatable young-ish dad who wants to be best friend with his daughter. But on the other hand, his character had other scenes throughout the film where you get the feeling something is seriously wrong with him, and part of the reason may be him being too young to be a dad. He is still “not ready” and has that level of responsibility. It’s an incredibly layered performance; I am not giving him enough justice by describing it, so I will write that there were many great performances in 2022; and Paul belongs in that conversation for “best of the year”. I can’t wait to see them both in more films/shows.
Overall, Aftersun is a film I could write thousands of words about, and yet; I could never do it justice. It is so unique, relatable and gut-punching that you may feel several complex emotions towards the end. But it is worth it. It is insane that we still have amazing artists who don’t need big budgets, CGI or, honestly, even big-name stars to make a powerful movie, and I am here for these films. I would be shocked if both Paul and Frankie didn’t become big-name stars because of this movie, and I wish them all success. And I am already anticipating the next film by Charlotte Wells. What a strong debut, what a fascinating movie, and what a holiday. Also, as sung by David Bowie at the end, “give love, give love, give love…” I swear; every time from now on, this song will hit me hard.
That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!
Until next time,
Luke