These stars are for (1) the gorgeous aesthetics and cinematography; (2) the first one third of the film, until Parthenope meets the acting coach I'd say; and (3) the final section.
Large parts of the film felt vapid, pretentiously pseudo-intellectual and very much driven by male fantasy and the male gaze. There were moments in which I thought the film was self-aware, critical and satirical about its voyeuristic, male gazey character - calling out the audience for engaging in it…
I wanted to like this but meh. It was aesthetic and scenic, but it dragged on for too long and failed to impress. Would've been better if it were a whole lot shorter.
The colour grading was often quite weird and un-Mediterraneanised a lot of the scenes. Some of the side characters' performances were genuinely bad. I loved how slutty the outfits were, don't get me wrong, but what was up with the weird scarf thing half the men were…
Although I didn't completely comprehend the story at first, I also didn't feel the need to. The film evoked many different emotions in me, but not in an overly dramatic way. Other reviews have put into words the beauty of the emotional nuances way better than I can.
I do want to point out the keen eye for detail that characterises Aftersun. The colours, the clothes, the sounds, the plastic woman-shaped swizzle stick, the old Efes beer logo, even the…
an intense and incredibly exciting film. very morally grey, and dark in a way that kept haunting me after i left the cinema. the sound design really added to the constant tension. but honestly the thing that triggered my fight or flight reaction most were the heteronormative questions about having a girlfriend or getting married.
i really enjoyed this, but i have to say, some questionable choices were made in the storyline that the film couldve done without.
