Review: Aftersun (2022).

Aftersun (2022). Written and Directed by Charlotte Wells.

[Frankie Corio, Paul Mescal, Celia Rowlson-Halls].

I am shattered, turned inside out, pulled apart and stuck back together in a way I could have never done myself. The true mark of an indie film, it leaves you with a sort-of emptiness and fills your thoughts with fleeting images and feelings that seem so misplaced and intrusive, yet somehow it is wrapping you up in a security blanket of fulfilment. I suppose what I’m trying to say is, I felt completely full of emptiness, which is fullness, nevertheless.

The title says it all: Aftersun, applied directly to burns, working to soothe damage already done. A story of Sophie, reliving the memories of a holiday she took with her dad 20 years prior, all captured on MiniDV tapes.

This story is told through a combination of fleeting, falsified memories, and moments of innocence that mask underlying darkness. Sophie tries to rationalize the man she thought her father to be, and the person he really was.

There is an air of sorrow that silently slips through the wholesome moments shared between father and daughter during their vacation. The score and soundtrack control this narrative, a threatening and thriller-reminiscent instrumental that reminds us there is darkness just beneath the surface of such overt happiness.

When I say eerie, I mean it, and the music tells more of a story than words ever could. Paired with the constant use of wide shots, landscape tableaus, and starkly bright grading, tranquillity is created and interrupted at a moment’s notice. But these moments remain beautiful, unabashedly loving, goofy and heartwarming. Sophie and Calum clearly value the limited time they share, and regardless of their individual qualms, they try to bring out the very best versions of themselves during all of their interactions.

Paul Mescal plays the role of Calum, a Scottish father on the eve of celebrating his 31st birthday. What comes off as an engaged, playful and doting father, is camouflaging deep, unresolved feelings of inertia and trauma.

The art of subtlety is what keeps us on edge the entire movie, wondering what’s going on inside his head, and what his next step might be.

How easily unaware children are of the ambiguity of emotions- Sophie is aware that there are pieces missing, and that there is an underlying feeling of unsteadiness, but her limited knowledge of the world causes a natural disconnect between parent and child.

When Sophie revisits the old tapes, another- truer- version of the man she knew begins to warp into the struggling father he truly was. Calum became a father younger than he planned, he speaks of life being anything but what he had expected, and as the years go by, he seems to be falling further into uncertainty.

He can’t give Sophie the life he wants, let alone the small things, and because he is subtly struggling with something serious, when Sophie shows interest in getting to know him or points out his age, relationships etc., Calum feels further put on the spot. What Sophie sees as celebrations and curiosity; Calum sees as cruel reminders of his perceived incompetence.

A review on Letterboxd says it best, “this is the type of movie that makes you rethink every interaction you’ve ever had with your parents.”

This disconnect is natural, and perhaps to some degree, important. Sophie is exploring herself, and the world around her, whilst Calum ponders the life he has lived so far- the choices he made, the place he comes from. His view of the world’s possibilities is opposite to that of his 11-year-old daughter, in this way Calum is left with further feelings of wasted opportunity, chances not taken, and perhaps even envy of Sophie’s currently clean slate.

But Calum keeps these feelings hidden between the lines, only letting them out in short, confused stints, and it is no wonder Sophie is unaware of his hidden trauma.

Throughout, we see glimpses of Sophie in current time as she views these tapes periodically as she turns 31, the same age that Calum turned during their vacation.

Sophie has her own child now, something that stirs her into seeking understanding- attempting to rewind time, to see if there was something she might have missed.

Perhaps she is left with more questions than before, but a part of her may also feel closer to him now, finally, on the same level as him- something she couldn't have been twenty years prior.

There is guilt in finding out the darkness within your parents, wondering how you let it go unnoticed- what you saw, what you didn’t. what you could have done to make them feel better. Sophie seeks to rectify, but there is nothing to fix, as it was only Calum’s burden to bear.

It is implied that Calum committed suicide (or died) at some point soon after their holiday, which was to be their final time spent together.

But just as we were left to wonder what went on inside his head throughout the film, during the final dance scene, we are told with certainty that we will never know.

The only thing we know for certain is that Sophie finds a new type of connection with her father, and though he is no longer in her life, the carpet he bought during their holiday remains in her apartment today.

I suppose I was waiting for something drastic to happen- and if you seek that, this movie does not offer such. No moment is more important than the next- they are equally as purposeful and purposeless.

Nostalgia will guide each memory with your own satisfaction in mind, so in the end, what was said and done, is nothing and everything, depending on how you wish to see it. Aftersun is about the semantics of subtlety, to see what was left unsaid.

Because I spent the entirety wondering when we would get the answer: why? What is the importance of this scene, this interaction?, when the screen fades to black, the story is left as it began, and I was suddenly extremely overwhelmed by the realization that the big moment, the reason why never mattered.

What mattered was the time spent together- the time between two confused souls, bound together by genetics and love, just trying to make sense of the world, to find their place within it.

Frankie Corio, the actress of Sophie, is brilliant and perfectly encapsulates the youth and curiosity of adolescence, a character I found myself connected to, familiar with- a link to the young girl I once was.

Paul Mescal is the king of subtlety, his skill and understanding of pacing and when to apply the necessary amount of pressure is incredible and so, so natural.

Writer and Director Charlotte Wells revives, reinforces and reimagines the magnificence and artistry of great storytelling. I hope she continues sharing pieces of herself with us in this manner, I admire such literary awareness.

The movie- the story- never ended for me, not after the credits rolled. I’ve been thinking about it since, reliving scenes like memories, the stillness, spaces of silence, and the sea crashing against the shore. It made me want to crawl under a rock and sob for an eternity. That is a movie.

10/10.

"When you were eleven, what did you think you would be doing now?"

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