Movie Review: Aftersun (2022)

Genre: Drama  

Director: Charlotte Wells  

Starring: Paul Mescal, Frankie Corio  

Running Time: 101 minutes  

Synopsis: The story is predominantly a flashback to the 1990s, when 11 year-old Sophie (Frankie Corio) went on a vacation to Turkey with her divorced father Calum (Paul Mecal), and captured memories on a digital video camera. They lounge by the pool, meet other vacationers, scuba dive, and take in the local sights. Sophie interacts with vacationing British teenagers and is exposed to early adolescent experiences. Calum works hard to make sure his daughter is having a good time, but subtle signs betray his inner sadness.

What Works Well: Layers of lament gradually emerge from a deceptively simple coming of age story nestled within a father-daughter bonding experience. Through the fractured lens of a pre-teen's memories, the grown-up Sophie (Celia Rowlson-Hall) is looking back at the closest interaction she ever had with her dad, now recognizing distress signals in the form of self-help books, awkward attempts at meditation, financial strain, and oscillating mood swings. Director Charlotte Wells finds audacious camera perspectives and packs every frame with rich details, often finding innovative ricochet angles to add an understated edge to Sophie and Calum's interactions. Frankie Corio's bright performance anchors the drama, her Sophie observant, perceptive, and curious, but far from artificially precocious.

What Does Not Work As Well: The camerawork overindulges in fragmentation and the narrative leans into abstractions, demanding substantial connect-the-dots work with multiple possible interpretations.

Conclusion: A search for turmoil lurking below the surface.



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