The title feels very poignant, the film could easily be described as a sunburn and only with Aftersun can be soothed and eased into something truly beautiful. I felt a whole range of emotions watching Aftersun, ranging from times in France playing arcade games like Time Crisis surrounded by older teens to how I feel at present. When I walked out of the film, I didn’t originally feel this way about the film. I truly believe if it wasn’t for the Steller performances by Paul Mescal and Frankie Corio then I feel the film simply doesn’t work. The film is built upon them as the foundation so if that foundation is flawed in anyway the film simply falls apart. Charlotte Wells simply did a fantastic job with the direction, the way the films linger on shots, to the creative and confident editing screams someone with tons of experience behind the camera which makes it even more surprising that this is her first feature. I would be lying if I said this wasn’t a must watch film. It’s a film that will leave you thinking and in powerful ways haunt you. The fact I left my screening I couldn’t stop thinking about it for hours even days afterwards just shows how powerful cinema can be. Upon listening to under pressure featured in the film It all clicked into place and I had to do my best to hold back the emotions. I’ve never experienced a feeling like that before.
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