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Aftersun (2022)
An easier take for the pain
I agree w all of the posts and thoughts here. Just some other ideas and theories of what will happen to him in hopes of making this a sweeter rather than a sadder ending. (warning spoilers) Honestly it was a delight just watching them have fun at the resort w the cheesy entertainment the gorgeous weather and idyllic background almost making a movie unto itself.
There are lots of references to his behavior and struggling condition already. A few to add I noted were his proclivity for the club lifestyle namely drinking, dancing, drug use and smoking featured prominently throughout.
He warns her of the harms of smoking knowing he is still under the addictive influence as he sneaks cigarettes at times. He tells her some drug use is ok if she wants to try it and admits he has done everything. His clock seems to be set to party hours as one scene shows he is still awake at 3:09 and they do a lot of sleeping during the day by the pool and on buses.
He admits to himself he is lucky to have made it to 30 and cant' seem himself at 40. He can't explain how he broke his wrist and what happened to his shoulder so drinking to passing out seems to be a regular event.
The karaoke scene is kind of pivotal. He refuses to join her then as a concession offers singing lessons. In here resent she says to 'stop it' as he knows he can't 'afford it'. Then he goes out and gets passed out drunk.
I think he was crying after because he realizes he can't be setting a good example for her and his being jobless, other pressures and mood won't even allow doing some karaoke even for the benefit of his daughter.
In some of the last strobing sequences adult Sophie appears to be yelling at him to stop (his clubbing behavior).
The end of the movie has him walking down a long corridor and into a room with the recurring strobing lights again. That was the metaphor I went with, that his clubbing was the end of his life.
He did offer to help her with any questions on drugs or boys earlier so it appears he wants and plans to be there for her in the future. So my more hopeful theory is he lost his life to his vices from perhaps lung cancer or a heart condition or accident versus suicide a little later in life.
Banana Split (2018)
'Banana Split' and 'Booksmart' - 2 great teen dramadies
A nice charmer around a surprising bonding experience that develops between two high school girls in a love triangle with a common boyfriend - Nick - where ultimately their love and kinship for each other wins out.
They both bring hilarity to most of their life events and the challenges of their new relationship - offering dining etiquette advice to movie house patrons, maintaining their clandestine but 'rule based' friendship, and mixing in and out of other usual high school social scenes.
Other characters that include April's meddling, precocious little sister with an advanced vocabulary, her grounded mother, her kooky less inhibited friends and the sympathetic but wary guy pal all add to the humor set to some nice sun-drenched CA backdrops.
The moves and paths of high school to college are pretty familiar, lost jobs, driving tests finally passed, acceptance to distance separated colleges but lovable characters, their relationships and witty dialogue always makes each journey especially unique and entertaining.
The shared relationship eventually comes to a strained reckoning but the reconciliation is overcoming and the resulting love/friendship heart warming resolution even better.
Just another in a series of superbly written, witty and entertaining teen dramedies that should give 'Booksmart' a run for its money this year.
The Party's Just Beginning (2018)
A good directing debut and nice story
This is a really nice debut by a young director that shows a capable handling of mature issues like suicide, substances abuse, family relationships, sex etc well beyond her years.
Her character Lucy has been living in another 'drunken dimension' of binge drinking, casual sex with strangers and late night stagger homes after a visit to the chip shop. All this a result of losing her closest friend, Alistair, who committed suicide despite all her efforts at prevention.
At times you see the pleasantness around her: the scenic city Inverness, her watching the nice family moments of her neighbors through their window at night contrasting her family situation where each member seems isolated.
But other characters eventually to begin to ground her back into a more normal lifestyle. She has a small relationship with a traveler also dealing with family misfortune who she comforts at the same site where she lost her first friend. The same site she will later visit contemplating her own plight.
Through the film she also has been helped by a therapeutic relationship with an elderly man calling her home mistaking it for the crisis hotline. The caller further restores her sense of humanity and tells her it is time to 'wake up ' from this alternate dimension she is living in. A very clever reveal of the caller's actual identity occurs soon after.
She ultimately brings closure to her grief and delights to see her parents talking to each other again through the window as she arrives home one night and goes in and joins the conversation.
A pretty good resolution story told overall and some outrageous moments, mainly involving Lucy, also add an amusing element of humor.