Aftersun
AFTERSUN (15)
D: Charlotte Wells
A24 / BBC / Screen Scotland / Tango / BFI / Pastel Productions / Unified Theory (Adele Romanski, Amy Jenkins, Barry Jenkins & Mark Ceryak)
UK/US 🇬🇧🇺🇸 2022
101 mins
Drama
W: Charlotte Wells
DP: Gregory Oke
Ed: Blair McClendon
Mus: Oliver Coates
Paul Mescal (Calum), Frankie Corio (Sophie), Sally Messham (Belinda), Brooklyn Toulson (Michael); Celia Rowlson-Hall (Adult Sophie)
Charlotte Wells’ directorial debut, Aftersun, which she also penned the screenplay for, is a partially autobiographical coming-of-age drama, featuring an impressive breakthrough performance from juvenile actress, Frankie Corlo and an Oscar-nominated turn from its lead actor, Paul Mescal.
The story follows Sophie, an 11-year-old Scottish girl, on holiday at a Turkish resort with her father, Calum, during the late 1990s, pieced together through memories and home video-style footage.  Over the course of the holiday, Sophie spends time with her father playing pool, scuba-diving and participating in other various activities, and befriends a group of English tourists in the video game arcade, including Michael, a boy of the same age who she develops a crush for.
Meanwhile, her father is showing signs of depression, anxiety and an inner turmoil which he seems hesitant to address.
It’s a sweet film with a pair of fine acting performances that should be appreciated by everyone, even if the non-traditional narrative style isn’t.
7/10
Award Wins & Nominations:
MILSTEAD MOVIE AWARDS:
Wins: none
Nominations: 4 (Best Actor in a Leading Role; Best Breakthrough Performance; Best Screenplay - Original; Best Film Editing)
OSCARS:
Wins: none
Nominations: 1 (Best Actor in a Leading Role)
BAFTAS
Wins: 1 (Outstanding Debut by a British Director, Writer or Producer)
Nominations: 3 (Outstanding British Film, Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Casting)
OTHER WINS:
Angers European First Film Festival (Best Actress); Atlanta Film Critics (Best First Film); Austin Film Critics (Best First Film); BAFTA Scotland (Best Actor, Best Director); Bodil Awards (Best English Language Film); Boston Film Critics (Best New Filmmaker, Best Editing); British Independent Film Awards (Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Music Supervision); Bucharest Film Festival (Best Screenplay); Chicago Film Critics (Most Promising Filmmaker); Chlotrudis Awards (Best Actor, Best Original Screenplay); CinEuphoria Awards (Best Actor, Best Song); Columbus Film Critics (Best New Filmmaker); Directors Guild of America (Outstanding Direction of a First Feature); Discussing Film Critics Awards (Best Debut Feature); Dublin Film Critics (Best Director); Independent Spirit Awards (Best First Feature); Florida Film Critics (Best First Film); Hawaiian Film Critics (Best First Film); Hollywood Critics Association (Best First Feature); Indiana Film Journalists (Breakout of the Year); International Cinephile Society (Best Actor, Best Editing, Best Debut Feature); Irish Film & TV Awards (Best Actor); Las Vegas Film Critics (Breakout Filmmaker of the Year, Best Female Youth Performance); London Critics Circle (Breakthrough British Filmmaker, Young British Performer); Los Angeles Film Critics (Best Editing); Music City Film Critics (Best Young Actress); National Board of Review (Top 10 Films of the Year, Best Directorial Debut); National Society of Film Critics (Best Director); New York Film Critics (Best First Film); North Carolina Film Critics (Best Directorial Debut); North Dakota Film Society (Best Film, Best Editing); Oklahoma Film Critics (Best First Film); Online Association of Female Film Critics (Breakthrough Filmmaker); Online Film & Television Awards (Best Youth Performance, Best Adapted Song, Best Feature Debut); Online Film Critics (Best Debut Feature); Phoenix Film Critics (Best Youth Performance); Polish Filmmakers Critics Awards (Best Foreign Film); SESC Film Festival (Best Foreign Film, Best Foreign Actor, Best Foreign Director); Seattle Film Critics (Best Youth Performance); Toronto Film Critics (Best Film, Best Actor, Best Director, Best First Feature); VHS Awards (Best Editing)