It has been a while since I have watched a movie that left me feeling uncertain as to how I felt about it once it ended.
I could go on some sort of long preamble about other films I have had a similar experience with, but I don't think that is necessary. I also think that my reaction to Aftersun is a little more unique and complex than calling it an "uncertainty".
While watching Aftersun, I marveled at the assuredness and style/aesthetic of Scottish writer/director Charlotte Wells. I use the word "marvel" mostly because this is her feature film debut after previously directing three short films following her graduation from Tisch.
At the same time, I sort of found myself having an issue connecting to the material. It wasn't that I didn't "get" what I was seeing, but I felt like I was somewhat emotionally removed from it.
The film is set in the late 90s and revolves around Sophie (Frankie Caro), an 11-year-old girl who is vacationing at a Turkish resort with her father Calum (Paul Mescal), who is about to turn 31.
We do learn that Calum and Sophie's mother are amicably separated, and at the fairly young age of 20, perhaps Calum wasn't ready to become a father.
Interspersed within the film are old home videos of the trip that were taken by Calum and the masterstroke here is that we are watching these home videos along with the adult Sophie 20 years after the events of the film.
In some ways, Aftersun reminds me a little of Fun Home in that there is a strangely loving and yet tense relationship between a father and a daughter. While Fun Home does have the LGBTQ+ angle, Aftersun doesn't have that.
Instead, we deal more directly with depression.
Calum makes a comment in the film that he didn't think he'd make it to 30 but he is especially sure he won't make it to 40.
All the while, we watch young Sophie, approaching her teenaged years, showing a lot of maturity and a growing understanding that her father isn't exactly handling things in his life well.
And adult Sophie is going back to watch some of the home videos trying to see if she can piece anything together.
It is clear that Calum loves Sophie, but there is a disconnect there...or a detachment rather. In certain moments, it does feel as though he is building up a wall around her...especially when she shows how astute she is at recognizing that he is feeling sad/angry/upset...even over something like when she loses the expensive goggles he got for her in the sea. He doesn't blow up, but she can sense the stress...especially considering his financial situation.
He can't seem to bear that she can recognize his pain, as if that is somehow a failure on his part.
This is a film that is basically told strictly from the point of view of Sophie. We don't get many moments alone with Calum...and at first, I found that difficult.
As I ruminated on it more, I realized that the film wouldn't even exist if Sophie had that much more to dig into to try to understand her father.
MAJOR SPOILER ALERT:
While not explicitly said, it does seem to imply that Calum did commit suicide not long after Sophie departed on a plane to return to Scotland while he remained behind.
The timeline of this is a little skeptical but we do know that when she waves goodbye from the airport terminal, it is the last time they will see each other.
END OF MAJOR SPOILER
What makes a little unsure of the film is that I wish it focused a little more on the inner mind/thought process/personal demons that adult Sophie may have.
While I came to peace rather quickly with understanding the motives of keeping Calum at bay, I think I might've had a stronger emotional reaction to the film if they let me understand more about what makes Sophie tick and how she is functioning as an adult. I feel like the glimpses we get don't tell as much of a story as I would've liked.
I do want to comment on Paul Mescal and Frankie Caro.
Mescal has been on the rise lately, having been known mainly for his work in the theatre and his breakthrough role on the miniseries Normal People.
Here, he does do a lovely job at portraying that mix of love and a sense of detachment that also seems born out of love and fear of hurting Sophie.
I think Frankie Caro is a revelation though. Last year, I praised young Woody Norman for his work in Mike Mills' C'mon C'mon as being truly lived in and realistic child performance.
Caro falls into that group easily. What is even more remarkable about her performance is how she pitches it between the scenes we are watching happen as opposed to the ones that are being filmed.
For the "filmed" scenes, she often puts on a certain energy that is very reminiscent of how a lot of us kids would act whenever a video camera would show up...and I was one of the kids who often made shot videos of my own from exactly that same time period.
I appreciated their chemistry very much and I think Wells also deserves another round of applause for getting that kind of relationship out of them.
Lastly, I do want to reiterate that I am still ruminating on this film. I feel like every time I start to think about something I love about it, something just pulls me back.
I didn't connect to it as strongly as I had hoped, but I still admired so much about what Wells was attempting to do.
I am going to be a little more generous due to the combo of the two leads and also the concept itself.
RATING: **** / *****
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