Aftersun (2022)

CinemaSerf

7.0

Oct 26, 2022

"Calum" (Paul Mescal) and his daughter "Sophie" (Frankie Corio) head off for a holiday in Turkey. Initially their experience reminded me of "Carry on Abroad" (1972) with the usual building works and booking errors, but soon they settle into a comfortable poolside routine and we begin to learn a little about the dynamic between father and daughter. The occasional conversation with their absent mother tells us the parents are no longer together and a series of ongoing vacation activities paired with brief flashbacks from the adult "Sophie" help us to follow the young girl's attempts to get to kn…

Peter McGinn

5.0

Jan 7, 2023

I was pulled into watching this movie by the high ratings it received rather than the plot or the performers. So I find myself in the weird position of wondering if I am a bit thick and just didn’t “get it.” For to me the movie was a mess. There were some striking scenes and fine acting, but it all seemed disjointed and confused to me. Between shaky camera syndrome and recurring flashing images that meant nothing to me, I lost the thread of the story besides the obvious, which was showing the ongoing interaction between father and daughter. Several of the quiet scenes seemed to trail off an…

This is about an important topic in today's world - unrecognized mental health issues. First, let me say that the acting is tremendous. Paul Mescal did an awesome job of portraying the silence of depression. Even Frankie impressed me, like another Ana Paquin. This is a powerful story that clearly mirrors the unanswered questions in the life of auteur Charlotte Wells. This film has been added to my movie list "Directors About Themselves". https://letterboxd.com/sirlaffalot/list/directors-about-themselves/ I was really only not pleased with the introduction of Older Sophie's domestic life. We do…