Aftersun
Movie, 2022, The 2020s, Set in A Turkish resort
Aftersun is #26 of 37 in release order and #26 of 37 in chronological order in the A24.
The story
Sophie reflects on the shared joy and private melancholy of a holiday she took with her father twenty years earlier. Memories fill the gaps between camcorder footages as she tries to reconcile the father she knew with the troubled man she didn't.
Aftersun recap
Aftersun (2022) follows 11-year-old Sophie on a 1990s holiday in Turkey with her young father, as the adult Sophie looks back through their camcorder footage. Charlotte Wells writes and directs her first feature, loosely drawing on her own childhood. Sophie (Frankie Corio) lives in Scotland with her mother; her father Calum (Paul Mescal), about to turn 31, lives in London and is separated from her mother on good terms. Days go by at the pool, on a scuba trip, at a mud bath and at karaoke, where Calum refuses to sing with her and she performs Losing My Religion alone. Sophie hangs around older teenagers and has her first kiss, with a boy named Michael. Calum hides a deep depression from her: he practises tai chi, cries alone and walks into the sea at night. Scenes of adult Sophie (Celia Rowlson-Hall) searching for him on a strobe-lit dance floor cut through the story. Mescal was nominated for Best Actor. The film stands alone.
Aftersun ending explained
Aftersun ends with Calum waving Sophie off at the airport and filming her as she goes. On the last night they dance together to Under Pressure. In the present, adult Sophie, now about the age Calum was and living in New York with her partner and baby, watches the old footage; the rug he bought in Turkey lies worn on her floor. Calum puts the camera down, turns and walks down the airport corridor and through a door into the rave, where adult Sophie has been reaching for him. The film never says what became of him, but implies he did not live long.
Post-credits scenes
No. Aftersun has no mid- or post-credits scene.
Where to watch Aftersun
Aftersun isn't on a US streaming service right now. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 7.6/10, Rotten Tomatoes 96%
Where it fits
Cast
- Paul Mescal as Calum
- Frankie Corio as Sophie
- Brooklyn Toulson as Michael
- Celia Rowlson-Hall as Adult Sophie
- Sally Messham as Belinda
- Ayşe Parlak as Teen Girl 1
- Sophia Lamanova as Teen Girl 2
- Spike Fearn as Olly
- Harry Perdios as Toby
- Frank Corio as Ocean Park Father
- Ruby Thompson as Laura
- Ethan James Smith as Scott
Directed by Charlotte Wells.