12/12/2023 0 Comments Aftermath cast arnold schwarzeneggerThere are minor lapses of pace, maybe a narrative digression or two that dilutes momentum but overall, this is a satisfying film that takes an uncommon view on unexplored cinematic territory. The Aftermath is an essay about the other half, blending sufficient historical insight into a romantic drama to hold our interest without emotional sledgehammers. If history is only written by winners it will always only be half-true. As happens so often, Knightley's commanding presence and extraordinary range of emotional versatility stamps her ownership all over the film. Knightley and Clarke's performances are outstanding, while Skarsgárd adequately fills the role of a grieving, if over-confident, romantic antagonist. Arnold Schwarzenegger as Roman Melnyk (based on Vitaly Kaloyev) 4 Scoot McNairy as Jacob 'Jake' Bonanos (based on Peter Nielsen) Maggie Grace as Christina Judah Nelson as Samuel Glenn Morshower as Matt Hannah Ware as Tessa Mo McRae as Saab Martin Donovan as Robert Larry Sullivan as James Gullick. The stunning cinematography captures the horror of the immediate post-war period without the usual reliance on the tropes of military casuality and destruction. It reeks of period authenticity in ways that only British films can do. This film stands out in the war-drama genre because of its nuanced portrait of the immediate aftermath of the Allied occupation of Germany. ![]() In the middle of this swirling emotional vortex, a classic 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' sub-plot becomes the narrative device for rebuilding lives. Both lost loved ones and the times are not sympathetic to healing. Deep unresolvable grief permeates the city as well as the lives of the Morgans and the Luberts. Few films respectfully explore the humiliation of defeat and many viewers would ask 'why should they'? The Aftermath dwells on prolonged moments where the victor strolls in and takes over the home of the vanquished where a population is deliberately starved to keep them compliant where a once-proud culture must confront its inner demons. When someone remarks that more bombs were dropped on Hamburg in one week than were dropped on London in one year, we enter an inverted moral paradigm where the line between victory and vanquished turns grey. Lewis is a compassionate man who cannot bear to send the Luberts to a squalid refugee camp and invites them to stay in the attic, setting the tension lines that drive the film. The thoroughly middle-class Morgans have requisitioned a stately mansion owned by architect Stephan Lubert (Alexander Skarsgárd) and his rebellious daughter Freda (Flora Thiemann). It opens with British Colonel Lewis Morgan (Jason Clarke) and his wife Rachel (Keira Knightley) arriving in the devasted city of Hamburg to restore law and order, as well as to root out remaining Nazi sympathisers. Set in 1946, the plotline is straightforward with few surprises other than its final moments. ![]() Some describe it as slow, melodramatic, and predictable, but such labels often reflect unfulfilled viewer expectations rather than an ill-conceived or poorly executed film. There are many reasons a beautifully made film like The Aftermath (2019) ends up critically panned.
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