Aftersun

Saturday night, Sharon and I watched Aftersun. This is part of our annual odyssey to watch the films with Oscar nominations. Paul Mescal received a Best Actor nomination for his role in the film. Aftersun was also named one of the best films of 2022 by the National Board of Review.

Aftersun is a drama written and directed by Charlotte Wells. It stars Paul Mescal, Frankie Corio and Celia Rowlson-Hall. Set in the early 2000s, the film follows Sophie, an 11-year-old Scottish girl, on vacation with her father at a Turkish resort on the eve of his 31st birthday.

My interest was peaked when I noted that it was filmed in Turkey. Filming took place in Ölüdeniz, Turkey. This resort area is about 100 miles south along the Turkish coast from Bodrum. The scenery in the part of the film where they took a bus to the mud baths looked very similar to the terrain when we drove to the winery south of Bodrum.

When the movie was over Sharon and I expressed surprise that Mescal was nominated for Best Actor. We both thought that the performance of young actor who played the daughter was better. Mescal in not winning Best Actor... The movie is slow in spots. Talking about it after it ended, I do like the way they ended the movie. It is not bad, but I don't recommend it.