Film Moments: Aftersun

About three-fourth into the film, there's a scene in Charlotte Well's Aftersun<2022> where Sophie sings a karaoke version of Losing My Religion, R.E.M.'s 90's hit, on stage at the resort she and her father Calum are vacationing in. Through the duration of her singing, we see a progression in the dynamics between her and her father, who is watching from the audience.

Scenes like these are sometimes hard to watch. There's a rawness, a realness, which makes it uncomfortable. The beginning of the scene feels hopeful, almost playful, where she's trying to convince her dad to come up on stage and join her, almost sure that he will, despite the argument they've had prior to this. We stay with Sophie as she sings tunelessly on, losing enthusiasm as she realises that Callum is not going to join her.

As she sings "...trying to keep up with you / and I don't know if I can do it", Wells cuts to Calum, sitting in the audience. It's a brilliant moment, because there's a subtle shift of his eyes, perhaps indicative of his internal turmoil, and the meaning of the lyrics underlines what the character maybe feeling.

Towards the end of the song, there's a hope that's lost, and it almost feels like Sophie has realised something deeper. She waits on stage for the interlude to play out, which is such a good pause to let it sink in - for Sophie, and for the viewer.

The choice of song is interesting, and so is its presentation. Sophie singing it tunelessly in front of an audience who may not really "get it", in a very unglamorous karaoke version, makes the poignancy hit even more effectively. From the Netflix show Song Exploder, based on the podcast of the same name, R.E.M. vocalist Michael Stripe says about the protagonist :

"This guy is really unsure... he's in quicksand. He has no idea where he's going".

It fits in well with Calum's character, who tells someone in another scene in the film, “Can’t see myself being 40... Surprised I made it to 30.”

Aftersun is one of those films in which nothing really happens, which I love, but there's something visceral about it... a feeling that lingered, a feeling I couldn't shake off for a few days after I watched it. And that, I think, is what good art does. It finds you, it stays with you, it changes you.

I'm so glad MUBI brought the film to India.