After his stunning debut in Normal People back in 2020, Paul Mescal’s next leading role has arrived. If you thought the emotional intensity was too much to handle in Normal People, just wait until Aftersun, which will follow the actor as a young father taking his daughter on a whirlwind summer vacation to Turkey.
Charlotte Wells’ debut film is constructed on pure retrospection. The film follows young Sophie (Frankie Corio) into adulthood, as she attempts to recollect the memories of that Turkey trip with her father Calum (Mescal). Sophie was but 11 years old on that trip, transitioning out of childhood and into the complexities of young adulthood.
While Sophie’s life is in the foreground of Aftersun, she attempts to remember what was happening in the background with her father. Calum is struggling to get a grasp on fatherhood. She asks him to move back to Scotland with her; he declines. He doesn’t want to live in the same place he grew up anymore.
But he’s trying to be better at being a father: “You know you can talk to me about anything,” he tells Sophie. “Whatever parties you go to. Boys you meet. Drugs you take.” Okay, so Paul Mescal is one of those cool dads.
After touring at film festivals like Cannes and Toronto, Aftersun has been welcomed with resoundingly positive reviews—some even call it one of the best movies of the year.
“The film is constructed as a memory, and, like the people that exist in our own most complicated memories, Mescal makes us feel like we can see who this father is entirely, while he simultaneously remains a complete enigma,” wrote The Daily Beast’s Nick Schager on the film. “It’s a quiet but searing performance, and the one that haunted me most throughout [TIFF].”
Aftersun will premiere in theaters on October 21.
