Deceptively simple, Aftersun looks to the relationship of an 11 year-old girl with her father whilst on holiday in a fading Turkish holiday resort.
With an air of real time, Aftersun unspools its narrative as Calum (Paul Mescal) holds it together in the company of Sophie (Frankie Corio). Yet, in the privacy of the hotel room, he is distraught at the break up of his marriage and the loss of the day to day with his daughter. As they swim, sunbake, talk, interspersed are moments of 20 years later with a nostalgic Sophie struggling with her own memories of the holiday.
The feature film debut of writer/director Charlotte Wells, Aftersun is confident in its unhurried gentleness. Tender and thoughtful with a charismatic Mescal at its core, melancholia with a build up of ambiguous tension pervades a feature unafraid to do very little – and say a great deal.
Nominated for 2023 best actor Oscar.
Rating: 73%
Director: Charlotte Wells
Writer: Charlotte Wells
Main cast: Paul Mescal (The Lost Daughter, All Of Us Strangers), Frankie Corio
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