I Wish I Had Seen Aftersun Sooner

My brief talk about Aftersun and breakdown of the ending

[@taisk2371]

In my understanding, her father committed suicide and that trip was the last time they saw each other. It was his birthday during the trip, he turned 31. In the present day, it is Sophie’s birthday, she is turning 31 and has a baby of her own now. That triggered her to look back and try to find answers in those tapes and memories, remember her last dance with her father and try to resignate with the fact she couldn’t and cannot save him. This movie destroyed me ….

[@kwe4085]

I believe that Calum killed himself not long after this trip. That's why adult Sophie's vision of her dad in the rave still looks exactly like he did in that final airport scene. The last time she saw him alive, he looked like that and the last time she saw him happy, he was dancing. Now that she is turning the same age he did when he died, she's looking for clues to understand why he did what he did.

[@arno-creations]

No film has affected me this much in the last 5 years, an absolute masterpiece. That end scene will be stuck with me forever. Great dissection of the film :)

[@gordonleemovies]

The more I think about it the better gets. Thanks!

[@nenomengo]

Totally agree. Best film since Aronofsky's 'Mother'. It's a masterpiece. One of the best movies I have seen in my life.

[@dollarsaurus01]

God this movie wrecked me. Just brilliant subtle storytelling that leaves you with so much to think about, and the fact that we don’t really get concrete answers to anything makes it all the more impactful

[@gordonleemovies]

It’s just so different than anything else that came out last year. It just FEELS important.

[@johnPaul-qn3dg]

Their last dance, I cried gloops, this is film making, I think it's a classic and will be studied in film school for years, people, we are all going to know the names of Charlotte Wells, Paul Mescal and the child Frankie Corio. My only regret is I didn't see in the cinema, it's a very cinematic film and so full of subtleties

[@depressedtv]

This should've been nominated in many categories. Direction, writing, editing, and main and supporting characters

[@christinecampbell9507]

Absolutely! It's a masterpiece in every respect.

[@mclovin1981]

This movie broke my heart so much that I don't know when I'll get better. I am from Turkey. I remember going on vacation with my father to the town where the movie was shot when I was little. My eyes filled with tears throughout the movie, but I couldn't cry. Until a Turkish song plays in the background as the scene begins, before Calum and Sophie take a photo on the last night of the vacation. The name of the song is "Gamsız Hayat". I remember the song from my childhood and the lyrics fit the movie so well.
Don't ask me about me calmness
Without looking at my concealed wounds
Don't ask me about my crankiness3
Without knowing my hidden feelings

Do I look without any trouble on the outside?
Do you think I'm too carefree when I don't express my pain?
Do I look without any trouble on the outside?

Carefree life, puts its weird games unto different people
Carefree life, sets up preposterous traps for different people
Carefree life, asks different people about bygones
Carefree life, gets everybody exhausted without looking at a single teardrop

Don't you think that this calmness of mine will end
Without someone being there to surround my wounds
Don't you think that this crankiness of mine will end
Without me expressing my feelings

Do I sound too weak when I share my pain?
Do you think I'm too helpless when I cry of pain?
Do I sound too weak when I share my pain?
Do you think I'm too helpless when I cry of pain?

[@gordonleemovies]

It’s amazing how movies can remind us of our own pasts. So glad this movie was able to take you back to that time in your life.

[@thenameisomari]

That’s one thing I’m noticing, the choice of songs mirror Calum’s struggles so well in the movie.
Like the lyrics above for “Gamsiz Hayat”, Queen & David Bowie’s “Under Pressure” and even when Sophie sings “Losing My Religion” by R.E.M.

[@YodasPapa]

Truly an instant classic - even half way through I think I knew. It's been 3 months since I saw it and it's still on my mind. I heard the music from the end credits the other day and got full body chills straight away.
With most films, I've watched and read enough about filmmaking to basically understand how it's making me feel what I'm feeling. This is the first film in years where I get emotions but I have no idea where they're coming from. Like, half an hour in I noticed an underlying dread or foreboding and I still don't know how they did that.

[@KenoSNeal]

I love your comment so much. I felt the exact same way. This film is really a special gem. I can't stop thinking about it.

[@gordonleemovies]

I love what you said about the unique emotions the film brought out. I remember when I watched it that I felt this sort of uneasiness. The feeling about not having all of the answers while also generally knowing what went on to happen.

[@thenameisomari]

Same man, I watched it on Sunday and yesterday again. I’m still thinking about it.
Like you, I felt this underlying sense of dread like something devastating would happen, despite not picking up on all the signs of Calum struggling.
But that devastation was felt with the last dance and very final scene - so subtle in what it expressed but boy, did it move me to tears.
This film is incredible in how profoundly it can make you feel through such simple expressions, mannerisms and moments.

[@celine6355]

Paul got nominated for Oscars...Yeyyyy

[@gordonleemovies]

I KNOW. I’m absolutely pumped about that

[@polokid01x]

What's so great about this movie is there are so many scenes to analyze and see smething you didn't realize was going on until you go back and replay it in your mind knowing the mental struggles Calum wad going thru. Kind of in the same way Sophie was replaying the memories in her mind trying to piece together what she didn't realize was hapoening to her dad at the time.

[@KenoSNeal]

Aftersun is one of those rare gems that comes around every once in a while. I can't praise this film enough. I still think about it everyday and it's been a month since I last watched it. Brilliant and masterful.

[@gordonleemovies]

It’s a modern classic. I’m so happy that it’s getting some attention

[@KenoSNeal]

@@gordonleemovies definitely a modern classic. I rank it right up there with 'The Place Beyond The Pines' (another personal favorite of mine). I can't remember a single independent drama film that moved me this much since I watched Pines. Pines stayed with me for 2 years. I have a feeling that Aftersun will have that same power. Obsessed with it.

[@Theywantthedro]

My dumbass was thinking something sinister was going to happen at the end, so I really didn’t feel the crying punch.

[@Phisto89]

I don't think that's dumb at all. I think there was a deliberate effort to fill the viewers with dread but not really know where it was coming from. Maybe that was the filmmakers way of putting Calums dread, or maybe Sophie's dread into us

[@robertcopland5143]

Great review. I also love this film and it has remained with me since seeing it in November. Amazing performances from both Paul Mescal and Frankie Corio and what a directorial debut from Charlotte Wells. I hope it at least gets mentioned at the Oscars because it deserves to.

[@gordonleemovies]

What Charlotte Wells did is remarkable…especially for a first feature. The fact that she hasn’t been in the top 5 for Best Director talks is ludicrous after seeing the film.

[@astropgn]

The movie builds, and it builds, and it builds, and it builds a little bit more, and at the end it delivers everything.

[@gordonleemovies]

It’s been over a year since the first time I watched it and I still think about the ending

[@sorbetbabsy]

i dont normally watch films like aftersun, but after a friend sent me the trailer i decided to go with them. i was expecting some kind of emotional and tense thriller (dont know why) but wow was i wrong. im not a movie person so i sat down and for parts of the film i was a little confused, then the final shot of callum walking away, and everything came crashing down on me. i cried at this film and after watching this film the day it released in cinemas i still find myself thinking about it. this film played with my emotions so hard and i really cannot find a single flaw within any aspect of it

[@gordonleemovies]

Yeah the more and more I’ve thought about it the better it gets. When people look back on 2022 in film this will be the movie that didn’t get the credit it deserved at the time. Thrilled that Mescal got some recognition though.

[@missthea5259]

I think it's a film that is even more sublime on a second viewing. There are so many clues to Callum's struggles that could be missed on a first viewing.
SPOILER ALERT!!!
The postcard he has written so sophie in the scene where he's crying on the bed. It's like a goodbye letter.
Him standing precariously on the balcony railings.
Diving without a license.
Walking in front of the bus without flinching when he almost gets run over.
Telling the dive instructor he didn't think he'd reach 30 never mind 40.
Walking into the sea at night.
Accidentally cutting his arm trying to remove the cast and letting the blood drip down his arm without trying to stem the flow.
Refusing to answer Sophie when she asks him at the beginning what he thought he'd be doing at 31 when he was her age.
Teaching her self defence so she can always take car of herself.
The way he spits at his reflection in the mirror when Sophie tells him how sometimes she feels low. He probably imagines he may have passed on his mental health struggles to his daughter and is disgusted with himself.
''This is our last dance''.
This film is just exquisite!

[@HitorMissHallmark]

This is still my favourite movie of last year. I think I may have rewatched the ending about 10 times and it destroys me every single time. I hope more people watch it and appreciate what the filmmaker is doing. All of the small moments. What I will say is, don't be too busy expecting something big to appreciate the incredibly slight nature of the film. I truly left a different person, and an educated filmmaker.

[@mikefreaz]

Excellent review! This film is amazing! My favorite film of the last 10 years!

[@gordonleemovies]

Thank you! I really think this is going to go down as one of the pivotal films for this decade.

[@rika7625]

I just watched this for the first time and it was an amazing movie. The father and daughter relationship was beautifully written and shown. It was extremely sad that that relationship didn’t blossom as she got older. This is a sad story but one that’s rarely spoken about or portrayed on film.

[@gordonleemovies]

Such a beautiful film. The performances are A1 too

[@rika7625]

@@gordonleemoviesAbsolutely. Especially learning that the actor that plays Calum (Paul I believe) isn’t a father in real life. He portrayed fatherhood and fighting with depression all at one time.

[@PunchlineEverytime]

My favorite film from last year, which is saying a lot, both because I saw a lot of movies last year and loved a lot of them. I see myself in both characters, for better or worse, and see part of my dad in Mescal, too. Great analysis here, really helps articulate a lot of the things that resonated with me from the movie.

[@gordonleemovies]

Glad the movie was able to resonate with you on that level! Thanks!

[@papawheelie1645]

Not only did I enjoy this movie, it's in my top three favorite movies of all time! The three tend to vie for the top spot depending on my mood at the time. I tried to show a friend that 'last dance' scene, but like as soon as he took the dance floor even before they started dancing together, I was already emotional and had to turn it off.

[@missthea5259]

Great review! This film is just something else. I saw it a week ago and am still obsessing over it. Paul Mescal is already a pretty big star. If you haven't sen him in Normal People PLEASE check it out. It's a gorgeously unforgettable series and what brought him to public attention during lockdown in 2020.

[@missthea5259]

PS: My reading of the rave scene is that it is a metaphor for sophie trying to get answers for what hapened to her father. During these scenes she is constantly trying to reach him and fails. Eventually she reaches him and is angry and frustrated with him trying to get the answers she needs but also holding him close and trying to save him with the knowledge she now has an adult. But she cannot save him and he falls from her grasp.
The rave scene is also a metaphor for her memories of her dad and at the end after she leaves him at the airport he walks into her memories where he will remain alive forever.

[@gordonleemovies]

I’ll check out Normal People! Do you know what service it’s on?

[@gordonleemovies]

That’s a great interpretation of the rave

[@missthea5259]

It was in Hulu in the States and BBC1 in the UK where I'm from. It was huge. Especially as it dropped at the beginning of lockdown in April 2020 so it had a captive audience. Mescal has a couple of scenes in the series that are shattering. I'd love to know what you think.

[@gordonleemovies]

@@missthea5259 Thanks! I'll give it a watch!

[@nicobones9608]

"This is our last dance." -Shivers-

[@gordonleemovies]

So good

[@ponypower8]

The film basically tells us how different our perception of things become as we get older and more experienced. The main character, Sophie, decides to watch old home videos on her 31st birthday. In most parts of the movie (flashbacks), we see how the actions of her dad 20 years ago are perceived by an innocent 11-year old Sophie. Then in the vague opening scene and the powerful final scene, we get a glimpse of how an adult Sophie NOW interprets her dad's actions 20 years ago. Whereas when she was 11, seeing her dad suddenly dancing and laughing (to the song "Under Pressure") around a small crowd, to her eyes it was just him enjoying the moment and genuinely having fun. BUT NOW on her 31st birthday, she realizes (and accepts the painful truth) that her dad at that moment was dancing and laughing around a small crowd because he was apparently drunk and/or high. Of course, Sophie is also sad that she never got to spend another moment with her dad after that day because he apparently took his own life soon after that vacation. Personally, this movie affected me because I lost my dad when I was only 3 and I had a difficult relationship with my stepdad growing up. I'm also a dad now and am very close to my kid. So I guess for people like me, this movie spawns bittersweet memories. It also makes me realize how priceless and important my moments with my kid are and I should value them and not take those moments for granted. Which actually becomes harder to do as we try to find ways to earn more money and to pursue success in our profession or business.

[@nicolasdagnall277]

I think Callum commits suicide on the island after Sophie leaves. He could have stayed on the island and the scenes of him when he's on his own depict his severe depression and descent.... He barely flinches when he's nearly hit by the bus, he buys the rug without any financial implication, he sobs uncontrollably in the bedroom and the scene of him walking into the sea could be where ends his life. What's beautiful though is it leaves everything open to interpretation as we pick apart & understand the memories we've seen on screen, like Sophie. Incredible film and I have no idea why the academy didn't give it a best film or best director nomination.

[@gordonleemovies]

Something I didn’t notice initially was how the rug Callum buys is in Sophie’s apartment as an adult.
To me, I’d find it hard to believe that after a long time of being apart she’d accept it. So I think you’re right that he probably killed himself not long after the end of the movie sadly. This movie is so full of details like that it’s stunning

[@christinecampbell9507]

​@John Kammerle Charlotte Wells in her interviews has spoken of Callum as having committed suicide.

[@bender6942]

He didn’t commit suicide in Turkey, here’s why.
The movie gives us insight into both of their lives, we know that Sophie lives in Edinburgh with her mother whereas, Callum lives in London on his own and feels that he can never return to Edinburgh.
The final video is the airport in London which means that Callum and Sophie have flown back from Turkey together and Callum is putting Sophie on a domestic flight back to Edinburg to go back to her Mum.

[@slimmy_0076]

I never heard of this movie but I’m definitely searching it out now
Just found your channel, I can see you blowing up on here keep up the good work

[@gordonleemovies]

I appreciate it man! Definitely check it out

[@taisk2371]

It is on Mubi.

[@nenomengo]

It's a masterpiece. Point.

[@jeremymanson1781]

Enjoyed your insightful review. Charlotte Wells lost her father when she was 16. So although the film is fictional, its also personal.

[@gordonleemovies]

Thank you! I didn’t know that about her, that adds another layer of depth to the movie for sure

[@christofjork8446]

Great review, very well articulated. Subscribed.

[@gordonleemovies]

Thank you so much!

[@deardaughter]

Couldn’t agree more big dawg

[@gordonleemovies]

Thanks!

[@ludogh.659]

The film was based in a time (home video) that homosexuality was still not fully accepted in society. My interpretation of what happened to Calum is that he was struggling with his sexuality and felt that he “never belonged” which he states at some point in the film. He also states he doesn’t think he will live to 40 which I interpret that he may have had an illness (possibly HIV). His daughter in current time is gay and I feel that with a writer/director as brilliant as Charlotte Wells, this has a purpose to the film. Finally, in the final dance scene in the rave, frame shots show him dancing with another man that has a look of concern as he stares at Calum. My thought is this other man is Keith (his friend he speaks about moving in with). I may be wrong but that is the beauty of this film as it leaves us as an audience in the exact same position as Sophie which is “we wish we knew the answers”. This was the best film I have seen in the last 10 years at least

[@gordonleemovies]

This is super interesting and something I hadn’t heard before! I can definitely see where you’re coming from with this!

[@ludogh.659]

At first I thought it was strictly about depression and the unknown reality that we never really know the people closest to us. As I watched it a third and fourth time, you pick up little queues here and there that it might be about something more. When I saw the frame by frame, it appeared to make more sense. Either way, I love your video and we need more people to be aware of this film and it’s brilliance!

[@celestialys]

I did find your review today because i was looking for svr aftersun and if some people did try and post a video xD. Now i want to watch the movie, but idk if my sensitive heart will be able to watch the movie. Not so much movie are made this great, it is art. Then yes it can be boring for some peope i guess, who like something more dynamic etc but It does not mean the movie is bad

[@gordonleemovies]

It really is art. It’s one of those that I don’t see growing old any time soon.

[@tennisCharlzz]

Do you have a theory on why the movie is called AFTERSUN? Aftersun is sort of the opposite of sunblock (in the UK) where you put a lotion on due to potential sunburn. I have my idea on why I think it's called AFTERSUN (having more than one meaning).

[@gordonleemovies]

Honestly, I haven’t given the title a ton of thought since I saw the film.
Off the cuff though, I do think its meaning is a play on lotion you put on after a burn. The tape being this sort of healing mechanism for Sophie after the pain of whatever happen to Callum.

[@tennisCharlzz]

@@gordonleemovies I think that's one (valid) view. Another one has to do with something Sophie says about how she looks at the sun and thinks that her dad looks at it too, so it's something they share. Now that he's gone, it's dealing with the aftermath of how she thinks about the sun without her dad to share it.

[@christinecampbell9507]

I saw it as being the reflection of the happy time together on their sun filled holiday, and how Sophie tells Callum when they are lying on the beach that they share the same sky even when not together.

[@tennisCharlzz]

@@christinecampbell9507 This is why I think "after" means after Calum is no longer around, so they no longer share the sun, so "after" sun.

[@leonore3349]

They also apply aftersun lotion on each other at night.

[@PhotogrrlFilms]

I loved this film too but I must be a weepy bitch because EEAAO and Marcel the Shell also made me get the tissues out