«After Everything» - Movie Review by Kinoafisha
The finale, from which we finally learn how things will turn out for Hardin and Tessa.
It all begins with love. More precisely, with the most famous excerpt from "The First Epistle to the Corinthians" in the New Testament. This passage from the letter is usually quoted at weddings. And it is there that we find ourselves in the prologue to the drama "After Everything" - the fifth and final film in the young romantic franchise, based on Anna Todd's bestseller "After Ever Happy".
The first book in the series was also born out of love. Back in 2013, 24-year-old Anna, who adored the group One Direction, began writing her stories on her phone and publishing them in the online community Wattpad. These were notes of an erotic fanfiction about the tumultuous relationship between college student Tessa Young and singer Harry Styles. The chapters, which were released every day, were inspired by plots from various popular novels - from "Pride and Prejudice" to "Fifty Shades of Grey", which, by the way, also emerged from fanfiction, but already based on Stephanie Meyer's "Twilight". A year later, Todd released a printed version of the book, in which Styles was replaced by Hardin Scott, and in 2019 it was adapted for the screen.
As we approach the franchise finale, here are the news: Tessa and Hardin broke up because the young writer sent manuscript copies of the book "After" about their relationship to various publishing houses, and one of them agreed to publish it. Of course, the toxic guy didn't think to discuss this with Tessa first - the main heroine of his novel. In the fifth part, Hardin is already an author of a bestseller, which has brought him money and fame, but has left him without his beloved, with a flask of alcohol in the drawer and empty pages of the unfinished sequel to his book. Hardin unsuccessfully tries to win the girl back via text messages and drowns in flashbacks related to Tessa. To start from scratch and correct the mistakes of the past, he flies to Lisbon, where he meets Natalie - a sweet girl whose life he once destroyed. The intrigue of how the love story of Hardin and Tessa will end will hold on until the very finale, which, by the will of fate and mutual acquaintances, will bring this couple together again.
The new installment of "After" can be watched without any fear even by viewers unfamiliar with all the twists and turns of the previous chapters. This is because we will be shown various scenes from past films more than once. And two-thirds of the film is a completely new plot that starts with a memory from five years ago. Its heroine is Natalie, whom Hardin bet on with his friends in his best traditions. This story ended badly and apparently haunted Hardin all these years, as he never forgave himself. It is better to heal traumas in Portugal, where Natalie moved for a new life, and where our hero is heading. This is where all the interesting things start. And at some point, you forget that you are watching a continuation of a series that has managed to bore even its most devoted fans.
The cinematographer offers viewers beautiful shots of sunny Lisbon with its doll-like architecture and beach parties. In the frame by Joshua Reis, the city resembles European postcards by Woody Allen, with warm, sunny light reminiscent of Vittorio Storaro's cinematography. Moreover, in the struggle against self-destruction, Hardin is helped by a new character played by the star of "Sex Education," Mimi Keene. The actress, who was excellent as a bitch in the series, embodies a cute, self-aware, and forgiving dreamer, who loves smoothies and works at a wedding salon. In this sense, "After. Forever" is perhaps the best film in the entire series. The main character has grown up: he has mended his relationship with his father, doesn't suffer from made-up problems, and hardly makes any idiotic decisions anymore. However, the linear narrative is persistently interrupted by lengthy flashbacks, which not only try to convince the viewer of the simple truth that the hero loves only Tessa but also simply fill the runtime to reach at least the usual hour and thirty minutes. The almost music video-like insertion of Hardin's erotic fantasy about a flight attendant on a rap in an airplane seems even more out of place.
From the newness for the franchise, we see the story through Hardin's eyes. Moreover, Josephine Langford's character doesn't appear in the frame for most of the film. On one hand, it's like a breath of fresh air, as viewers have grown tired of following Tessa and Hardin's constant breakups. This feeling was particularly evident in the third and fourth installments. On the other hand, because of this decision, the filmmakers almost excluded the main heroine from the narrative, not showing how she changed, developed, and found fulfillment over the course of two years without a boyfriend in her life. The plot about Tessa not being able to have children disappeared somewhere. And the bad news: when Langford does appear on screen, it's the same worn-out phrases all over again, making it less interesting to follow the plot development.
The finale of "After" seems to have been written to appease fans of the series and was intended to move the audience. However, the excessive sentimentality on the screen and the theatrical gestures rather evoke laughter. And that's when we remember that all these tearful dialogues, the quarrels turning into intimacy, and the overly romantic scenes like when Hardin draws a heart in the sand - it's all in the DNA of the franchise. After all, this story, which started as a fanfiction, once found its audience among young Harry Styles fans, hopeless romantics, and cynics who chuckled at all of it. And if you don't take the film too seriously, you can even enjoy it. Especially since at the end, Hero Fiennes Tiffin looks so amusing with a book with yet another adverb on the cover, and Josephine Langford appears in a comedic wig.
