“Aftersun” is the kind of movie that doesn’t come around often. Charlotte Wells’ directorial debut follows a young woman, Sophie, as she recalls her last holiday with her father, Calum, when she was 11, through video recordings of the two of them. “Aftersun” shows the turning point of adolescence coming into a young one’s life and the view children have of their parents.

Calum struggled deeply outside of fatherhood but Sophie never noticed, until she watched the video footage years later. Sophie, played by newcomer Frankie Corio, is around her father’s age of 32 during their last holiday when she watches the miniDV recordings. Calum, played by Normal People star Paul Mescal, was obviously struggling through these recordings and throughout the film we see Sophie trying to decipher what was wrong and why. We don’t know what happened to Calum, which leaves us with a sense of mystery and keeps us intrigued throughout the movie. It is very obvious that he is struggling with getting older and many other things, but he tries so very hard to keep it from his daughter in the rare time they have together since he is not in a relationship with Sophie’s mother.

At the resort, Sophie encounters teenagers who are a few years older than she is and tries to befriend them. Calum tries to encourage Sophie to play with the younger kids in a way that makes him realize that Sophie is getting older and that means he is as well. Being around the older kids makes Sophie question her innocence and towards the end of the film that all comes to play. 

The final scene of the film contains a dance sequence between Sophie and her father with “Under Pressure” by Queen playing. While the words “why can’t we give love one more chance” play, the audience sees sequences of current day Sophie dancing with her father dressed in the same clothes he was in at the end of the trip. We get glimpses of these sequences throughout the movie but at the end they all come to fruition. The sequences show Sophie clearly being upset and angry with Calum, and physically and emotionally trying to reach out to him. 

Even though Wells’ heart wrenching movie is very slow at first and somewhat hard to continuously pay attention to, it leaves you staring at the end credits in awe. “Aftersun” is an accurate representation of grief and dwelling memories and what was, what currently is and what we wish it could be. You never know what life was like for your parents when you were young, they might have hid it from you and most of us had too much innocence to ever even notice. I’m sure everyone wishes, especially those with separated parents, that they could go back in time and help their parents heal and help fix their wounds. 

At the end of the movie we hear Sophie’s baby call out “Mama”. This film shows us that even though we have physically moved on in life, we still haven’t moved on emotionally. Even though new moments have come along in Sophie’s life and she has even made a new one, she is still broken and left wondering. Wells shows us what it means to love someone with your whole entire heart, but also to show how it isn’t always possible to have them by your side and in your grasp no matter how much you love them. Mescal’s performance as a struggling father who has so much love for his daughter is one that will change how you see your parents and really will jab you in your heart. Wells' directorial debut is a film everyone needs to see and is one that you will think about forever and ever. I look forward to her future projects, as this one was a truly impassioned work of art.