Aftersun – Movie Review
Director: Charlotte Wells
Writer: Charlotte Wells (Screenplay)
Cast
- Paul Mescal (The Lost Daughter)
- Frankie Corio
- Celia Rowlson-Hall (Vox Lux)
- Sally Messham (Allied)
Plot: Sophie reflects on the shared joy and private melancholy of a holiday she took with her father twenty years earlier. Memories real and imagined fill the gaps between as she tries to reconcile the father she knew with the man she didn’t.
Runtime: 1 Hour 42 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Aftersun starts as Calum (Mescal) goes on holiday with his daughter Sophie (Corio). They are staying in a family hotel, where they can meet other families on holiday, as Sophie records her trip.
The whole trip represents calm in their lives, while Sophie knows her parents aren’t together. They use this time together to make the most of their time together. However, as an adult Sophie looks back, she remembers how much her holiday with her father meant, as she is trying to reconcile with him.
Verdict on Aftersun
Characters
Calum is Sophie’s father, he has taken her on holiday to give the pair a chance to spend some time together. He is happy to be away from his own normal life, being the typical embarrassing parent. Calum does show signs that not everything is going well in his life but he wants to remain strong in front of Sophie.
Sophie is Calum’s daughter, she is looking back on her holiday as an 11-year-old with her father. She is trying to remember the best times from it and understand what saw her fall apart. Sophie as a young girl is filled with joy and curiosity, she wants adventures and asks the typical children question. She for lack of a better word is like every girl her age.
Performances
Paul Mescal is brilliant as Calum, he makes his character feel natural throughout the film. Portraying everything you would imagine a father to be, brave in front of his daughter vulnerable alone.
Frankie Corio is fantastic in her debut film role. She brings all the joy to her character, on the holiday where she is always curious. The two work so well together, feeling like father-daughter who are slowly drifting apart.
Story
The story follows a father and daughter holiday, through the eyes of the daughter looking back on the trip 20 years later. It shows the bond they have and what is meant to them both, despite seeing the distance growing between them.
The story gets to show the difficult life someone has being a parent and living with crippling depression. A bond between father and daughter as well as the importance of enjoying the small moments in life. This is a reflection piece showing how memories can blur and life changes. It is told in such a beautiful way even if the moments of uncertainty only help understand the older Sophie’s mind.
Final Thoughts –Aftersun is a beautiful painful drama on life’s difficulties.
