🎬 Overview
The After We Fell story is the third chapter of the After movie series, which is based on the books written by Anna Todd. After We Fell cinematizes the turbulent love story of Tessa and Hardin, the two main characters of the novel. This film release focuses on flashbacks and sulking sequences filled with whispers that could easily be described as threats.
The film goes a bit overboard with the melodrama, but the end result is far from thrilling. The film is targeted toward a particular demographic; those that have witnessed the constant change in Tessa and Hardin’s doomed chemistry and have become emotionally invested in it. For anyone else, it might be a hazy blend of repetitive and moody clashes of aesthetic conflict.
📝 Plot Summary
Josephine Langford plays Tessa young; a character who is about to move to Seattle for a new job. This news is not welcomed by Hardin Scott, played by Hero Fiennes Tiffin, who goes through phases of intense obsessive love and extreme jealous rage. With Tessa’s career options come a lot more responsibilities like, repairing her relationship with an estranged father and more. To add to Tessa’s chaos, Hardin’s unstable emotional secrets also rise to the surface.
The film primarily focuses on verbal altercations, stares brimming with unvoiced emotions, and fervent reconciliations. While new characters are added, very few are memorable beyond serving as obstacles to the plot.
🎭 Performances
Josephine Langford has not fully showcased her talent yet. Because of the superficial direction and repetitive lines, we do not fully appreciate her emotional nuance which shone through in glimpses.
Already established characters like Hero Fiennes Tiffin as Hardin retain the pained fixation that has marked the character since his introduction. However, at this point in the series, he is weighed down by the stagnant development of the character, rendering his performance lifeless.
Although supporting characters like Chance Perdomo (as Landon) add occasional humor, no one truly escapes the gravitational pull of the central relationship.
🎥 Direction & Cinematography
The film is directed by Castille Landon. She provides the film with a generic polish, with saturated lighting, pastel filters, and slow pans standing out the visual language. The sex scenes feel emotionally detached, echoing young adult fantasy novels instead of genuine intimacy.
Without strong thematic currents, much of the groundwork to explore beyond the surface feels like a stretched-out music video.
🎶 Score & Soundtrack
The After film series showcases their cinematic soundtracks as the only component of the movie they got right. Filled with moody, yet overly dramatic indie music as well as a mixture of pop that serves as the background of the romance, they hit the mark in the aesthetic aspect. While it works harder than the script to provide the feels, it adds value to the film.
💡 Themes & Analysis
Emotional Codependency: As always, After We Fell attempts to glorify Hardin and Tessa’s relationship as love so epic that they fall victim to emotional dependency. Although the movie tries to show some character growth, any improvement gets canceled out by constant cycles of manipulation and remorse.
Idealistic youth versus the adulthood: Tessa’s relocation to Seattle and her attempts at gaining autonomy are sabotaged by her relationship, her family, and the commitment of the movie to melodrama instead of character development.
Feminism at its finest: Although Tessa experiences moments of empowerment, she ultimately loses herself to romance, perpetuating the notion of a “bad boy” who needs love in order to be cured.
🏆 Reception & Legacy
The film After We Fell suffers from scathing reviews. It has low ratings on Rotten Tomatoes due to reviewers citing shallow plotlines, weak pacing, and a lack of narrative arc. Nonetheless, the film gained popularity among fans of the series and streaming audiences, demonstrating the controversial appeal of “troubled romance” narratives.
In the context of a franchise, it serves as a bridge. It places beautifully crafted dramatic and aesthetic interludes between more intense scenes, maintaining the tone that fans expect. For casual or new viewers, however, it’s an exasperating experience that has little to offer beyond the built-in fandom surrounding the franchise.
🍿 Final Verdict
Rating: ★★ / 5
After We Fell remains visually striking, yet stagnant film that epitomizes the franchise’s glorification of chaos disguised as passion. The film is clearly directed at fans of the franchise and does not disguise its lack of interest in the broader critical discourse. To devoted followers of the series, it is yet another dose of romantic despair; to the rest of the audience, it is a jumbled collection of subdued lighting and overly dramatic scenes.
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