Even before it racked up a mighty 16 British Independent Film Award nominations, the industry buzz was that Aftersun is one of the year’s best films. This is correct.
The scenario is simple – indeed, there’s barely a plot. It’s the 1990s: a single, 30-year-old dad called Callum (Paul Mescal) and his 11-year-old daughter Sophie (astonishing newcomer Frankie Corio) are on a package holiday in Turkey.
They drift around the resort, swimming in the pool. They chat. Sophie meets some other kids. That’s kind of it. Except, crucially, we access all this via an old camcorder tape that a now grown-up Sophie is re-watching on her TV. What does she see now that she didn’t see or understand then?
Lit up by two extraordinary lead performances, this is most obviously a father-daughter story. What brought Callum to this point? How will he help her navigate her own love life? Why is he sobbing?
Much is left unexplained but we get shafts of insight. Yes, it’s about innocence and experience but it’s really about memory. How we look back on ourselves and others.
The semi-autobiographical vision of debut Scottish writer/director Charlotte Wells has clearly been burnished over many patient years of loving development. It’s not a showy film but it’s beautifully realised.
The composition, the colours, the sound, the delicacy of observation and, of course, the strength and vivid subtlety of these two remarkable performances.
A micro-masterclass in poignancy and heartbreak. Just see it.
Out Friday in cinemas
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