While both Causeway and Aftersun are first time features by a promising young filmmaker steeped in examining our past sorrows, both do so in very different ways. Lila Neugabauer takes a much more direct approach in Causeway, which sees Jennifer Lawrence in one of her more reserved roles in recent memory. With Aftersun, Charlotte Wells tackles grief through memory, without ever delving into what that grief actually is, but manages to deliver a powerful statement on emotional fortitude. Both films are amongst my favourites playing at this year’s edition of the Toronto International Film Festival.
Causeway (Lila Neugebauer)
Anchored by strong performances from both Jennifer Lawrence and Brian Tyree Henry, Causeway is a striking feature film debut from Lila Neugabauer. This isn’t the first movie to tackle grief and trauma through a personalized lens, but it’s nevertheless a well crafted and quietly impactful exercise in dramatic storytelling.
Following a traumatic brain injury while in Afghanistan, Lynsey (Lawrence) comes back to her hometown in New Orleans, seeking refuge with her mother (Linda Emond). Unable to return back to service, she takes on a job as a pool cleaner, and also forms a connection with a local mechanic, James (Henry). Struggling to find purpose and coming to terms with her own traumatic experience, Lynsey is forced to confront her past demons in order to shape what might lie ahead.
In a role that shies away from the more comedic characterizations we’ve come to expect from Lawrence, Causeway allows for a much more reserved performance. Lawrence plays a physically and mentally embattled war veteran who seems to have lost her voracity to live, but never leans too heavily on self-pity or personal disdain. There’s always a sense of strength to her composure, even when that strength seems to be in hiding for the most part. Henry compliments this by portraying James as an equally scarred vessel of humanity who seems to be a few steps ahead of Lynsey when it comes to any journey towards recovery.
Both performances seem effortless, yet convey such a deep sense of woundedness without ever feeling melodramatic. And that’s also reflected in Neugabauer’s observational approach as a director. Just as the characters in the film are passengers in their own experience with grief, the film is aligned in such a way that the audience also takes a clear backseat. And that doesn’t mean the film fails to carry the usual emotional beats of a dramatic narrative, but it does so without any conventional footnotes. The narration feels natural, and is still able to maintain all notions of emotional weight.
Causeway should also be lauded for its ability to never feel completely disheartening, without losing its intuitive sense of melancholia. Its overall composure is fitting for a film that invests so heavily in navigating through one’s personal grief and trauma, but doesn’t convey its meaning in a manipulative way. Lawrence and Henry will likely continue to be singled out for their arresting performances, but Neugabauer is also deserving of praise for creating this insightful reflection on traversing through life’s sorrows.
Aftersun (Charlotte Wells)
In one of my favourite films coming out of the festival this year, Charlotte Wells takes us on a non-intrusive, yet emotionally vibrant journey examining the power and importance of memory. Aftersun isn’t a loud proclamation in storytelling, but as the film slowly builds up an emotional tide that eventually swells over with great force, it’s hard not to acknowledge how affecting it truly is. Despite this only being her first full feature, Wells is obviously very well versed in utilizing the cinematic language, and her proficiency as an articulate filmmaker is hard to deny.
The film revolves around Sophie (Frankie Corio), an eleven year old girl who spends a summer vacation with her father, Calum (Paul Mescal) at a Turkish resort. Capturing memories through a camcorder, which is eventually interspersed with an adult version of Sophie (Celia Rowlson-Hall) looking back on her own life. The film blends together what might be flashbacks through recorded images, or simply visions captured through Sophie’s own memories.
What’s remarkable about Aftersun is how it manages to create so much emotion, by seemingly doing very little. Dialogue and plot devices are sparse, with Wells also employing a rather muted and quiet stylistic approach to the film. But as the narrative progresses, some of its quieter motifs begin building towards something bigger. Much like the seemingly mundane memory of Sophie’s summer vacation with Calum, the weight of the memory’s emotional baggage slowly becomes apparent. And by the time we reach the end of the film, there’s a burden of poignant reflection on both how and why memories are meaningful. There’s an underlying sense of sadness to the film’s narrative, and the fact that the specifics of this sadness are never made clear, makes its revelation on memory even stronger.
Mescal gives a quiet performance that isn’t overly dramatic, but delivers calculated inflections of emotive inferences that won’t surprise anyone familiar with his prior work (particularly Normal People). There was clearly a high level of restraint on his part, which pairs well against his character’s mysterious, but clearly melancholic backstory. Corio is also impressive as Sophie, turning in a character that is both playful and precocious while stripping away the usual tropes we see in child performances.
The film also builds up to one of the most arresting on-screen interpretations of Queen’s Under Pressure, serving as a wonderful surprise to bookend a magnificent cinematic experience. Wells has simply delivered one of the most powerful examinations of how we remember our emotions, particularly those that might be vested in pain and sorrow. Aftersun is a revelation, and Wells deserves all the accolades that will hopefully continue to come her way.
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