Aftersun - Neutral Story
Thoughts On: Aftersun (2022)
A daughter reminiscences about a holiday she shared with her father as a child.
Perhaps a little too subtle to register on first watch, I found Aftersun to be slow and very British, meaning politely impartial. It has brushes of themes concerning adolescence, sexuality and existential desire, capturing them all on a typically lacklustre British holiday shared between a slightly estranged father and daughter. However, there is no eruption or development of drama, merely a recording of a slice of life that just may be some of the best times shared between a daughter and father who never create a deep bond or connection to speak of. There is a melancholy about that - this neutral and static narrative being the highest point in a relationship - and there is much we are left to wonder could be windows into spiralling darkness; e.g suggestions that the father is suicidal, an alcoholic, chronically lonesome, etc. However, without the darkness sitting on the periphery of this story being exposed, melancholy is a mere impression not at all substantiated by anything more than personal relation. And since I could not personally relate very much to this film, the sorrow and poignancy I sense being teased about came to little. For this, I cannot say much about Aftersun, but certainly do find its self-restricting neutrality to be a fascinating storytelling technique in regards to the exploration of childhood memory.
