Aftersun

CinemaSerf

2022-10-26

⭐ 7

"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

2023-01-07

⭐ 5

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…

Would almost describe it as boring except I felt very uneasy and on edge the whole time. A humanistic portrait of a father-daughter relationship that evokes the question of what is it to be a good father.

Horseface

2024-07-27

⭐ 3

I unintentionally farted during the movie's perhaps most serious scene and started laughing because of the contrast. Then, as the character on-screen started sobbing, I started laughing harder, and I couldn't stop myself, and tears started rolling. That's a true story, and by far the best moment of the movie for me. I wanted to like this movie as my brother recommended it, but it's... Toxic. I can tell from the songs that are played throughout that someone in my age group made this. But... It's narcissism. It's like a shit teenager from when I was a teenager grew up, and never became an adu…