Aftersun (2022)

Directed by Charlotte Wells. Starring Frankie Corio, Paul Mescal, Celia Rowlson-Hall, Brooklyn Toulson. [R]

Quiet and slowly devastating story-from-memory piece where young Sophie (Corio) spends a summer holiday with her divorced dad, Calum (Mescal). He tries (struggles, at times) to make it a memorable and fulfilling experience for his daughter, but it gradually becomes clear he’s dealing with serious issues of his own, ones that will affect their relationship and whatever sense of well-being he clings to. In her feature debut, writer/director Charlotte Wells intersperses the story with a handful of brief flash-forwards to Sophie’s adult life and strobe-lit “metaphors” for losing touch with her father, the latter of which are the least effective pieces, both as shot and conceptualized, leaving the viewer in the literal and figurative dark too often. Whenever it focuses on Corio and Mescal in Turkey, however, blending straightforward camerawork with camcorder footage, twisting the lens on perception and recollection, and chronicling the ambiguous psychological breakdown of someone trying his best through depression, it’s downright masterful. Has the capacity to really sneak up on you and linger for a long time afterward, with quiet breaks leading to distraught torrents, and culminating in a final shot of heartbreaking resonance. Co-produced by Barry Jenkins.

89/100