Aftersun (2022) - A Poignant Look at Mental Health

Charlotte Wells makes her directorial debut with Aftersun (2022), a film that stays with you long after the credits roll. A sudden emptiness takes hold of you as you come to grips with the meaning of the end of the film. The film is a masterclass in quiet storytelling as we learn of what lies between familial relationships, and what happens when they're suddenly gone.

Aftersun follows Calum, a young 30 year old Father, and his daughter Sophie as they embark on what seems to be a package holiday to Turkey. At first glance you wonder how Calum could possibly be Sophie's father - a mistake also made by a character in the film - as he is seemingly too young to have a daughter. Though as the story unfolds you come to the understanding of how young Calum was when he had Sophie and the sacrifice he has made in order to have her.

The film is extremely intimate and quiet, with barely any music separating the audience from the scene. Paired with close ups and an emphasis of reflections, makes it increasingly obvious to the audience that we are intruding on an intimate relationship between a loving and struggling Father and his coming-of-age daughter.

The film is dubiously set in the 90s - 00s, the film is crafted in such a way that there never is a question about where we are and what we are doing here. The answer is simple, we just are. We as the audience are along for the journey, much like the older Sophie, we must only observe no matter how much we would like to interfere with the story. We can only wish that we could reach through the screen and offer Calum a reassuring arm, that it will get better, as he sobs by himself in his room. Though we can not, we can only observe as he spirals through the depression that has a strong hold over him.

The voyeuristic nature of the film is accentuated by the extensive 'found footage' like storytelling. The film is partially told through Sophie's video camera as she records her Father and sometimes herself. More often, this is used as a device to further show Sophie's blissful ignorance, something that comes through seeing the world through the eyes of a child. She does not understand that Calum is struggling with his mental health and is holding on by a thread.

Sophie innocently misinterprets Calum's Thai Chi as 'weird ninja moves' but really it is Calum using self help methods of meditation to overcome his depression. Though Sophie understands that her Father is tight on money, there is a naivety to the way that she views things. She knows that the goggles were expensive and how important that was to her father, who tried his hardest to get them back. Sophie also understands that she does not have money to play on the arcade machines as much as she wants or get the exclusive wristband that allows you to get anything you could want at the resort.

Viewing the film through the childish eyes of Sophie is refreshing albeit sometimes frustrating. We see her come of age, as she kisses a boy she thinks she likes and tells her Father about it. We watch as she observes the older youth she meets engage in sexualised activities, and she spies on a couple kissing in a doorway. Sophie is obviously curious but instead of going to her father, she wonders around the resort exploring and finding things out for herself. Something that the older Sophie seemingly knows too well, as she is forced to find out for herself, why her father is no longer in her life.

The audience comes to this understanding, through fleeting moments caught of Calum. Blink twice and you might miss when Calum spits his toothpaste at his own reflection. He only does this after hearing that Sophie is sad, and she gives a perfect description of what the audience knows Calum is feeling. Calum is so disgusted at himself for feeling the way that his daughter just described, that he spits out in anger at his own reflection. It is in moments such as these that we see behind the cracks in his façade, a deeper look than Sophie could hope for. One that the older Sophie is searching for but ultimately falls short of.

This is symbolized in the disorienting club scenes where the older Sophie is trying to get close to her Father, who is at the same age that she is now, though no matter how hard she tried, she cant reach him. It is only at the end of the film, also the end of the tape that the older Sophie is watching, that she finally embraces her father. Not long after the embrace, he falls from her grip. This cuts back to Calum who finishes recording Sophie, only to walk away and into the club. We realize now that he is wearing the same clothes as the time that Sophie last saw her Father, ultimately signposting this as the moment when he stopped being in her life. Whether absent due to death or departure, it is left unclear. Though as the credits roll, you're left questioning what happened as much as Sophie is too.