After

As with the end of most dead zones in a film season, we have films that aren't bad, however not great either. Rites of passage films have been a familiar Hollywood staple, and with that they have a tendency to be predictable. But when I saw my first trailer of "After", I felt it wouldn't be great, but I felt it would have potential, and that it did.

 

Based on Anna Todd's novel, "After" follows Tessa Young (Josephine Langford), a dedicated student, dutiful daughter to Carol (Selma Blair) and loyal girlfriend to her high school sweetheart, Noah (Dylan Arnold), as she enters her first semester in college. Armed with grand ambitions for her future, her guarded world opens up when she meets the dark and mysterious Hardin Scott (Hero Fiennes Tiffin), a magnetic, brooding rebel who forces her to question all she thought she knew about herself and what she wants out of life.

 

Others to round out the cast are Inanna Sarkis as Molly, Peter Gallagher as Ken Scott, Hardin's father, Swen Temmel as Jace, Shane Paul McGhie as Landon Gibson, Jennifer Beals as Karen Gibson, Landon's mother, Samuel Larsen as Zed and Khadijha Red Thunder as Steph.

 

This was staged and appropriately paced by director, Jenny Gage ("All This Panic" (Documentary) '16, "Lenny" (TV movie) '18). Although this filmmaker's directing skills were fairly straight forward without many nuances, it was still solid in getting her actors to emit the emotions they needed to portray in order to be convincing. She will undoubtedly receive more work. It was written and adapted by Susan McMartin ("Mr. Church" '16) plus a ton of TV. It seemed a bit long-in-the-tooth even though it was only an hour and forty-six minutes. I realize that it takes some time for Hardin and Tessa to get to know one another, however the way the script unfolded, it just seemed as though their courting took forever. They're extremely different in persona, but that, I'm sure, was purposed--you know, opposites attract. Their chemistry was complimentary even though they have opposite straits, but they were both easy to watch because of the challenge they had in getting to know one another. Considering the limited experience of McMartin, this was certainly a solid script, and the fact that the storyline isn't exactly original, this was executed rather well. One thing that has helped this writer is the fact that she has a plethora of TV to hone her craft, and with this, it has served her well. Even with the element of predictability, with the way this evolved, it would be interesting to see what she writes next.

 

If you're a hopeless romantic, this will a film for you. And even if you're not, the writing and directing will be enough to allow one to feel there is potential here. Certainly, if because of time restraints or if one has kids, you could wait for Netflix or renting this film, since it's a small romantic drama. The film has potential even though there is a bit slowness to it. You be the judge.

 

Out of 4 Stars: 2.5                                     Rated: PG-13                                     106mins.