A hugely affecting film
On a melancholic birthday, Sophie remembers an idyllic holiday with her father – possibly she is now the age he was then, making this puzzle-piecing of memory a poignant moment for her and a sublime, filmic one for audiences.
How do we talk about something that cannot be put into words? To be sure, poets make it their lifetime work, and if there are any out there reading this review, you’d be smart to look to Aftersun as a means to solving the problem.
Calum (Paul Mescal) and his daughter Sophie (Frankie Corio) are on holiday in Turkey, celebrating his birthday. Calum is separated from Sophie’s mother and, since he no longer lives in Scotland, where Sophie and her mother do, it’s a special time of togetherness. The resort is somewhat shonky, but they don’t need much, and it’s implied that Calum doesn’t have much in terms of finances. Still, he spends a small fortune on a Turkish rug, a photograph taken of them by the resort’s photographer, a snorkelling outing that doesn’t quite go to plan. For Sophie, it’s the best holiday ever, but for Calum, something’s askew. We’re not quite sure what it is but there are scenes in the film that cause slight, however deep, discomfort, as if the father and daughter are on the precipice of an unforeseeable grief.
Much of the film is devoted to young Sophie and Calum’s interaction, which is whimsical, lyrical and altogether natural, creating a truly astounding and completely believable dynamic between the two actors. But as a perceptive eleven-year-old who’s noticing a new world of adult ways, Sophie’s innocence and questioning balance one another, and Corio does a magnificent job.
Writer / director Charlotte Wells’ instincts surrounding emotional shadows is understatedly astounding – we feel plenty without knowing much. Aftersun – her debut feature film – is a masterclass in restraint, because in not telling us the climax of the story, we bear its build-up and off-screen repercussions. Flash-forwards of the adult Sophie (Celia Rowlson-Hall) help with this as well, and there’s a hands-down brilliant rave scene with Freddie Mercury and David Bowie’s Under Pressure highlighted as adult Sophie literally wrestles with an unaged Calum in strobe light. It’s so telling without the summation.
This is one of the most affecting films I’ve seen in a very long time, and the fact that it’s centred on a father-daughter relationship – a theme too often ignored in popular culture – makes it that much more touching. There’s only one more showing of it at the Adelaide Film Fest and I urge you to see it.
Reviewed by Heather Taylor-Johnson
