Aftersun

Aftersun is a strikingly brave and bold debut film. Charlotte Wells positions herself as a Director to watch with a film that sticks with you and lingers.

Ostensibly a simple story of young single father Callum taking his 11-year-old daughter Sophie on holiday, it actually leaves more questions than answers as we intermingle with scenes from Sophie’s adult life, where it’s clear that things have changed dramatically and Callum is now absent.

It veers between beautifully naturalistic scenes, truly transporting you in place and time to its resort setting and hallucinatory, strobe-lit sequences reflecting Sophie’s later mental state.

The performances are incredible: Normal People’s Paul Mescal a clear leading man of the future and Frankie Corio, playing the younger Sophie, is also clearly set for great things. Almost an additional character is the soundtrack; an almost contrapuntal mix featuring 90’s songs many of which are played in full. The effect in certain scenes (Blur’s Tender and Queen & Bowie’s Under Pressure being two prevalent examples) is truly moving.

Director Wells has brilliant command of the story as well. As things begin, a combination of scenes shot on an old-fashioned digital camera and some shots which you initially feel just linger that little bit too long means it’s a slow build but, as the story progresses and these scenes match up to later scenes in the film, it coalesces to build a lovely picture of the importance of the trip to Sophie and the abiding memory she has.

The lack of a clear narrative ending may be a frustration to some but, overall, this is a beautiful and fascinating film which is set for award’s nominations galore.

4 stars ****