Like the polaroid that captures the holiday of father and daughter Calum and Sophie to a vacationing resort in Turkey, Aftersun takes a while for its emotional potency to develop. Marking the feature directorial debut of Charlotte Wells, the Paul Mescal-starring and Frankie Corio-introducing Aftersun is an astonishing yet stunningly rendered piece exploring mental health, loneliness, memory and the facades we put up to protect ourselves and others.
Reflecting years later on a holiday with her father, informed by the footage captured on a miniDV and both real and imagined memories of their time together, Sophie's recollection of their relationship comes at a crucial time in her life.
There are two repeating motifs in Charlotte Wells' Aftersun: water and cameras. Both are intrinsic in understanding the gentle, rippling theme and narrative work in this stunning debut, one designed to feel like a memory that comes flooding back to you years later. A quietly crushing, carefully restrained film that somehow feels balanced on a knife point as you await the devastating blow you anticipate, it is because of the attention to detail and excellent craftsmanship that Aftersun soars as remarkably as it does.
Delivering one of the most accomplished directorial debuts not only of the year but the decade so far, Wells has crafted a beautiful, poignant picture whose emotional power lasts and lingers. Wells' screenplay is such an affecting piece with strong character work, authentic dialogue and rich themes, remaining deeply personal to its character but surprisingly universal in its themes; her direction is driven by similar generosity, open in its interpretations but delivered with such heart. Wells' evocative direction is poetic without feeling excessive, sincere yet avoiding sentimentality, demonstrating a new, exciting voice brimming with such confidence and skill -- there may be no moment that reflects that notion better than a sequence which utilises the song 'Under Pressure', which could very potentially go down as one of the most affecting, jaw-dropping needles drop in cinema.
Gregory Oke's cinematography turns every frame into a beautiful picture, often telling more than the surface initially suggests. Enriched further by the decision to shoot on film, Aftersun is imbued with a timeless quality, rather fitting with the film's exploration of memory, and the vital video footage which guides its characters to their reconciliations. Alongside the fantastic editing, which pieces together the said footage with the real memories, juxtaposed by that which has been imagined, there is such tight control over every element; even when we suddenly move from the past into the present, it never becomes jarring, instead unfolding like a dream you have suddenly been pulled from. It clearly indicates a creative group harmoniously united by Wells' strong, clear vision.
Paul Mescal and Frankie Corio are utterly sensational as Calum and Sophie, each offering a beautifully naturalistic performance with a wholly believable father-daughter chemistry that elevates Aftersun to astonishing heights. Beneath the layers of Mescal's work is a leading turn of stunning complexity, a current of emotion that threatens to engulf both the character and the film, kept at bay by Mescal's skill as an actor: he dials the character's emotions so perfectly, sensitive in its portrayal but delving deep and constantly probing. Corio's youthful wisdom and childlike innocence are a tonic to the heavier, more emotionally internalised work from Mescal, the pair creating one of the most compelling character relationships through, often, the smallest of gestures, becoming so akin to the way family communicates.
Aftersun is a film that needs to be seen in order to appreciate all of the beauty in its small moments and minute details. As a polaroid develops, it becomes richer in detail, colour and vibrancy - so too does the emotional core of Aftersun: a picture which has swept you up and carried you out long before you realise you are far from the shore. Contemplative, melancholic, textured and utterly extraordinary - Aftersun is one of the year's best.