FILM: CHARLOTTE WELL’S AFTERSUN WILL LEAVE YOU WITH QUESTIONS THAT EXPONENTIALLY MULTIPLIES AS YOU THINK

BY IRVIN RIVERA

Would you say a film succeeds when YOU keep talking about for days after you exit the theatres? That’s what A24’s Aftersun did to me and my friends.

I’m not going to delve into spoiler territory for this piece as this would just be my initial and lingering thoughts after witnessing the movie and trying to process it in my head and amongst my peers who have seen it as well.

The film features the charming Paul Mescal (“Normal People’s” breakout star) as Calum and newcomer Frankie Corio as the magnetic character of Sophie, Calum’s daughter. Mescal and Corio’s layered dynamics throughout the film is powerful as it commands attention in its simplicity. It’s a montage of a lot of intimate moments that volleyballs from the father and the daughter’s perspectives- on how they see and interpret their moments together as flashes of lights in a slow motion rave party devoid of music.

The film’s intimate moments may seem very slow but it draws you in. Well’s decision to use a handycam and lots of tight shots of the actors effectively worked to convey the bond between the two main characters.

The collection of moments is very reminiscent of Sofia Coppola’s 2003 film Lost in Translation. They don’t necessarily make sense but they eventually do. The meaning unfolds in its own time and there’s beauty in it. It gives us, the audience, time to marinate in our thoughts and have an open discussion about what we just collectively witnessed.

The shots were beautiful, Paul Mescal is perfect for the role, but there’s something enigmatic in this film that I can’t just pinpoint right away. Maybe it’s the vagueness? It’s so vague that it becomes that beautiful enigma? I don’t know.

We’re fortunate to witness the film with a panel hosted by Barry Jenkins (one of the film’s producers) and director Charlotte Wells. This is the Scottish director and producer’s first major feature. And although she was there to answer a lot of questions, there’s still a lot of things left unanswered and I think the beauty of this film lies in that. As Barry Jenkins put it, Wells “puts a lot of trust in the audience” by not explaining a lot of things and not spoon-feeding them.

Overall, A24’s Aftersun is a beautiful collage of vague patches of melancholia.