Featured Image Credit: A24
Topics: TV And Film, Paul Mescal, BBC
Jess Hardiman
A ‘heartbreaking’ Paul Mescal film with 96 percent on Rotten Tomatoes lands on TV today, so grab your tissues and get ready for one of his most poignant, enchanting roles yet.
Mescal, 28, has a big year ahead of him, with a starring role in Ridley Scott’s long-awaited Gladiator sequel set to turn him into a box office giant.
That’s not forgetting his recent turn in romantic drama All of Us Strangers, which was released a few weeks back to critical acclaim.
But there’s another of his gems that may have passed you by after it was released in cinemas back in 2022, having racked up a very respectable score of 96 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
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Written and directed as a semi-autobiographical project by Charlotte Wells, Aftersun is a coming-of-age drama starring Mescal as a single dad who takes his 11-year-old daughter on holiday to a resort in Turkey to celebrate his 31st birthday.
Watch the trailer below:
The film, which is set in the late 1990s, is told from the perspective of daughter Sophie, now reflecting on the intricacies of her damaged father some 20 years later as the extent of his struggles begin to weigh down on her when she revisits footage from their trip.
The beautifully-shot story struck a chord with cinemagoers and critics alike, with many noting just how moved they felt by Wells’ bittersweet directorial debut - which also landed Mescal an Oscar nod.
“Aftersun is such a heartbreaking movie,” one fan tweeted.
Someone else said: “Aftersun is such a disarming gem... Paul Mescal and Frankie Corio have incredible chemistry.”
A third wrote: “Thinking about Aftersun today and how heartbreaking but soul-mending it was to witness.”
If you didn’t get the chance to watch it when it was on the big screen, you’ll be delighted to know that it’s on TV tonight (11 February), screening on BBC Two at 10pm - definitely one to stick on record if it’s past your bedtime.
It’s one that will linger with you long after the credits have rolled, with many viewers praising the incredible chemistry between Mescal and his on-screen daughter, played by Frankie Corio.
“I don’t know if I’m particularly good with kids, generally speaking, but for some reason with Frankie, I found it easy," he admitted at the time of the film's release.
"I can’t explain that other than probably, like, chemistry that exists between people. And we were lucky.”
The actor added that he felt it was vital for films like Aftersun to exist, as a means of triggering debate about subjects often pushed to one side, such as depression and other mental health issues.
“There’s a catharsis in watching something that makes you feel,” he said.
Watch Aftersun on BBC Two at 10pm on Sunday.