Aftersun

A24 | Release Date: October 21, 2022

7.9	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 152 Ratings

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Brent_MarchantJan 13, 2023

It’s one thing for a movie to be subtle and nuanced, but it’s something else entirely to be enigmatic and cryptic. And, regrettably, the debut feature from writer-director Charlotte Wells delivers more of the latter than the former. ThisIt’s one thing for a movie to be subtle and nuanced, but it’s something else entirely to be enigmatic and cryptic. And, regrettably, the debut feature from writer-director Charlotte Wells delivers more of the latter than the former. This melancholic character study tells the story of a woman (Celia Rowlson-Hall) who looks back 20 years to a vacation that her perky 11-year-old self (Frankie Corio) took with her young and loving but quietly troubled father (Paul Mescal). In doing so, it explores the subjects of memory, parent-child relationships, mental and emotional well-being, and the various senses of loss we all experience over time, topics that the protagonist’s youthful counterpart may not have fully understood at the time but that her adult self now does. I wish I could say the same for myself, though; I often felt that I was being tasked to construct a narrative for the picture myself, based, essentially, on merely what was being shown to me, material that frequently comes across as underdeveloped and open to an array of interpretation in terms of both story line and character development. To put it simply, I didn’t feel I was given enough substance to work with to accomplish that task, and it often left me feeling wanting, abandoned by the filmmaker, and, ultimately, uninterested. And, to complicate matters further, the film’s poor sound quality regularly obscures the characters’ dialogue behind their thick Scottish accents, and its often-dark, overly muddled cinematography made some images difficult to decipher at times. What’s more, this offering’s camera work – aimed at simulating glorified home movies, a fitting approach for telling this story – is packed with innocuous material. Indeed, who really cares about sitting through endless footage of the characters engaging in mundane activities like playing video games, eating ice cream and attempting to sing karaoke? The “looking back in fondness” factor in these supposedly touching segments is a little too inane to engender truly heart-tugging feelings, constituting cinematic padding more than anything integral or meaningful to the overall story. Considering all of the advance glowing reactions I had read about this release, I was really looking forward to it going in. Unfortunately, though, I came away from it almost as sad and disappointed as the protagonist herself.… Expand

3 of 4 users found this helpful31

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AmblerEdwardJan 26, 2023

I thought this was a hugely overrated film. The critics are considering the flaws- unexplained and under-explained plot points as virtues and deft art. The subject matter and the location spots were cinematic, but too much of the canvas wasI thought this was a hugely overrated film. The critics are considering the flaws- unexplained and under-explained plot points as virtues and deft art. The subject matter and the location spots were cinematic, but too much of the canvas was left blank for the audience. How can you have a framing motif of the father dancing amid strobe lights and yet never reveal the import? How can the critics and the audience infer anything at all about the adult Sophie when nothing subsequent to the airport drop-off is shown? Are we to believe that like Morrissey signing " I've seen this happening in other people's lives, now it's happening in mine" that turning 30 is supposed to be a haunting spectre that will cast existential doom on every generation? I don't know.… Expand

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

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JLuis_001Dec 23, 2022

I applaud the naturalness with which the performances register the events unfolding on screen, because this was crucial to how this film worked.
Not because of the chemistry of the characters, but because they kept you focused on movingI applaud the naturalness with which the performances register the events unfolding on screen, because this was crucial to how this film worked.
Not because of the chemistry of the characters, but because they kept you focused on moving forward with the story, since at the end of the day, all we are watching is the vacation of a father and daughter that, without much conflict in between, would make you wonder more than once what was the point of watching it.

And that clashes with the enormous ambiguity of its plot, which is a double-edged sword, because one way or another, the film will have a very different resonance depending on the viewer and I think it will impact much more those who feel identified, which is not bad, but at least I see it within the overall perspective of its drama, and Aftersun is nothing more than a reconstruction of memories and how they tend to be manipulated by our own mind and we have the idea that something that happened at the time was nicer than it really was, and it is that when you face them with a different age and a different experience you understand perfectly well what it was, or in many cases you don't. That's why I think its conclusion is the part that left the most lasting impression on a large part of the audience.

A very enjoyable film, but I don't think it's worthy of the mark it's making.… Expand

2 of 4 users found this helpful22

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davemelbourne58Nov 15, 2022

Clever idea. Great acting from both leads, especially from the young girl, but unfortunately I just wasn't moved enough to recommend this movie

2 of 7 users found this helpful25

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EBERTSBIGTHUMBFeb 13, 2023

Maybe I am becoming a snob, but I don't want to watch overindulgent scenes that contribute nothing to an already dull plot. It's hard to be engaged to a story that doesnt really go anywhere but implies through editing that it is building upMaybe I am becoming a snob, but I don't want to watch overindulgent scenes that contribute nothing to an already dull plot. It's hard to be engaged to a story that doesnt really go anywhere but implies through editing that it is building up to something. It almost feels like we as the audience are being cheated. Two Thumbs DOWN!!.........................good acting though… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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HonestReviews66Apr 29, 2023

I understand that sometimes you have to read between the lines, but the idea here is supposedly that an adult woman is reflecting on her childhood holiday with her father. Only problem is, we only see the adult woman for a matter of minutes,I understand that sometimes you have to read between the lines, but the idea here is supposedly that an adult woman is reflecting on her childhood holiday with her father. Only problem is, we only see the adult woman for a matter of minutes, so we don't really know what effect the past has actually had on her. And nothing really happened on that holiday. Yes there's a few scenes where we're supposed to interpret things, but I would have preferred a couple more traditional scenes. You know, where something actually happens. Well acted, though. And different.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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