What a remarkable screenwriting achievement Aftersun is, the way it slowly builds up to something this devastating while being this subtle all the way.
Paul Mescal plays a father with his daughter Sophie (Frankie Corio) on vacation. Occasionally some home video footage will appear, so we will believe the father and the daughter are a true bond. It is possible to not be particularly impressed by their vacation scenes since they tell fairly little.
But by the end, we experience a sudden, powerful heartbreak; Something that we did not realize was being built up.
It wasn't until then I fully appreciated Aftersun's genius. We were almost completely oblivious to what was about to come, like Sophie. The final moments of Aftersun play like an hourglass arriving at an end, with the final dose of sand trickling through.
Paul Mescal plays a father with his daughter Sophie (Frankie Corio) on vacation. Occasionally some home video footage will appear, so we will believe the father and the daughter are a true bond. It is possible to not be particularly impressed by their vacation scenes since they tell fairly little.
But by the end, we experience a sudden, powerful heartbreak; Something that we did not realize was being built up.
It wasn't until then I fully appreciated Aftersun's genius. We were almost completely oblivious to what was about to come, like Sophie. The final moments of Aftersun play like an hourglass arriving at an end, with the final dose of sand trickling through.