9.5/10

Memory is an elusive phantom. When experiencing life moments as kids, we rarely stop to appreciate and comprehend them completely. It’s often only upon looking back that these fuzzy snapshot moments become clear. One of my fondest childhood memories is taking a driving trip across the western United States with my brother and parents after moving to the country from England. I had never seen landscapes of that scope before. England is quite beautiful in its own way, but going from there to the ridiculously diverse scenery of America was mind blowing for me.

If someone asked me to recall every second of every day from that time, I would not be able to. I can recall a few distinct visuals and individual family moments such as losing my favorite stuffed animal at the Grand Canyon, collecting state rocks from each state I visited in a bag, and my brother being hit in the face by a snowball in Oregon. Those are inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, but I still remember them to this day. Aftersun is a film about experiences that we don’t understand until years later.

It’s about a young girl, Sophie (Frankie Corio), going on vacation with her father, Calum (Paul Mescal), at a hotel in Turkey. What follows is a seemingly benign series of journeys they go on together. At first, I did not know where the film was taking me. I was enjoying the story unfolding on screen, but I kept wondering what it was building up to. The emotions were quite intense when it clicked what the film was about. Aftersun is best watched twice for a very particular reason. Most of the film is from young Sophie’s perspective. We are inside her head as she observes her father’s behavior and demeanor. As a viewer, you first watch the film as a child. When you see it a second time, you see it as an adult. Much like Sophie sorting through her labyrinth of memories.

Child actors are often grating at worst and tolerable at best, but Frankie Corio is a rare exception. Her performance was natural and real. I never felt like I was seeing a kid playing a character. I was just watching Sophie. Paul Mescal is wonderful as her father Calum. His performance has a genuine warmth and charm that hides a wounded soul. The film stands back from Calum and his backstory. We only know the vague details that Sophie would know, such as his separation from her mother. As kids, we don’t soak in every life detail of our parents. You may know their careers and how they are around you, but the details fade into the background.

Aftersun has a slight narrative that some may find difficult to engage with if they want a more plot-focused film. It doesn’t spoon-feed the audience any answers. It presents you with the world these two characters inhabit and gives glimpses of the true nature of what is going on without being too on-the-nose about it. Calum clearly loves his daughter and is trying to give her the greatest vacation he can. There are hints that he may be more than just a goofy and lovable dad. This is where Aftersun shines, these beautiful character details and their relationship. Sophie adores every second she can spend with her dad. Even the times when he is distant.

I made sure to read as little about this film as possible. There are times when I thought it would shift into a more conventional approach. At one point, Sophie befriends a group of teenagers visiting the hotel. They are rowdy and goofy with each other, yet they are self-aware enough to not go too far in front of Sophie. One of them even apologizes to Calum for swearing. A standard Hollywood film would have a scene where Calum goes searching for Sophie when she is off partying with these teens and then scolds her for worrying him. Instead, her father lets her have this time with these older kids. Throughout the film, he encourages her to meet people and socialize.

I’m being cryptic about Aftersun on purpose. I would be doing the film a disservice if I spoiled any important aspects of the story. The writer/director Charlotte Wells has crafted a beautiful film, which is especially impressive since this is her feature debut. It is not a film about big dramatic moments and heavy exposition. It is a subtle and heartfelt tale showcasing how little we really know the ones we love. No matter how fond our memories are, there is a hidden sadness behind the eyes of the ones closest to us that we will never truly understand.

I only have one tiny issue with the film, and it is so small that it is barely worth mentioning. There are some small bits in the film where we see an older Sophie. The strobe-filled ones at a club are effective at communicating the scattershot nature of the past, but the instances showing Sophie at home when she is an adult are too fleeting to make me feel connected to this grown-up version of the kid we’ve been following this whole time. I think the film should have either elaborated on these scenes more to give more emotional context or take them out altogether and focus entirely on Sophie’s childhood, interspersed with the fast-paced club scenes to mix up the pacing. That is such a minuscule quibble that has very little impact on how fantastic the film is. I’m glad Paul Mescal got a best actor nomination at the Oscars, but I would have loved to see the film get best picture and best director nominations as well.

I usually wouldn’t do this, but I have decided to edit my Best Films of 2022 list to include Aftersun. As much as I loved The Stranger, it doesn’t have the same profound resonance as this. There is a specific moment in the film, that I won’t spoil when I started crying because I finally connected the dots and saw what the film was telling me the entire time. I had to sit and think about the details in the story I didn’t notice before. Much like Sophie looking back on her childhood, I didn’t realize the significance of the events until they were already gone.

I should have seen the film last year, but, alas, sometimes life gets in the way.