Respond to these rapid questions in our After quiz and we will tell you which After character you are. Play it now.
‘After’ begins with some narration about how certain moments in one’s life seem to define one’s character, and from there on out, the clichés are pretty much nonstop. Whether it’s meeting, initially being annoyed by, falling in love with, being heartbroken by, or reuniting with Hardin Scott (Josephine Langford), there’s a defining moment in Tessa Young’s (Josephine Langford) life (Hero Fiennes Tiffin).
She’s a young woman from the suburbs who is naive and inexperienced. While he may have a bad-boy image and attitude, underneath his declarations that love does not exist, his occasional eruptions of violence, and his body covered in some—say—eclectic let’s tattoos, he is really just a wounded softy. There’s a row of what appear to be guinea pigs on his forearm, and he has sunglasses on his right hand. In fact, the intensity of the romance between these two characters makes it all too easy to become distracted by a tattoo.
In part, this may be because the film is based on the first book in Anna Todd’s series of novels, which may explain why nothing in the film seems to be on the life-changing level promised by the opening voice-over. As with the most recent popular series of such movie adaptations, there isn’t so much a single story as there is a series of three major events that culminate in a final promise that future installments will provide us with more.
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There are no supernatural creatures or scenes of kinky sex in this story, in contrast to a couple of the more popular examples of such wheel-spinning romances. Most of what we get is a lot of sleepy actors, some of whom could be mistaken for the undead in certain scenes, and some very polite foreplay between the characters.
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It is revealed that Tessa is leaving for college with her mother Carol (Selma Blair) and her high-school boyfriend Noah (Dylan Arnold), who behaves more like a brother to her until he gives her an underwhelming goodbye kiss on the lips. In contrast to that, the muted sensuality of her romance with Hardin does appear to be a significant step up when a soon-to-be-dumped boyfriend is all she has to offer.
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The two of them, by the way, first meet when he is refusing to leave Tessa’s dorm room after she gets out of the shower, and she walks in on him. Later on, they get into a debate about Pride and Prejudice, during which their squabbling is supposed to serve as a reminder of the famous couple from that novel. We know this because Susan McMartin’s screenplay makes it clear that the comparison is being made, which is, shall we say, a rather daring association.
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Eventually, the two become friends because of their shared interest in fiction books, with Tessa being surprised when she discovers a copy of Wuthering Heights in Hardin’s bedroom while fleeing from the prospect of kissing him while playing a game of Truth or Dare. They were almost kissing right there and then, but instead, their faces just hovered right next to each other in the air. In terms of his face hovering over different parts of her body, it is likely that one could chart the progression of their relationship over time.
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Things may or may not escalate as a result of this. Whether director Jenny Gage is simply restricted by the expectations of a young-adult romance, in which all the sexy bits are implied, or whether we’re supposed to take the scenes of sensuality at face value, in which case the couple basically undresses a little more with each encounter before cuddling, is difficult to discern. They do have sex after Hardin, who is wary of love, asks Tessa to move in with him, and the relationship hits an unavoidable snag shortly after, which has to do with a couple of Hardin’s drama-seeking friends. There is a lot of pouting after that.
It’s only because there’s nothing else in the movie that holds the same level of interest—and certainly not to the same level of confused intrigue (aside from some strange, plot-mandated choices on the part of a couple of side players, such as Tessa’s mother all but disowning her daughter upon discovering the relationship)—that a good number of these observations seem to be focused on the sex (or the probable lack thereof). As a romantic interest, Tessa is mostly left as a blank slate, free to move with the whims of the story and react to Hardin’s changing feelings for her as the story progressed. Although the performances are consistent in their monotoneness, the dialogue alternates between being treacly, as in romantic statements, and being on the cuff, as in providing Hardin with a back story to explain his rebellious act.
“After” contains a single scene in which the two inevitable lovers dive underwater and we are left with nothing but the stillness and silence of a lake. “It’s beautiful, this silence,” Hardin says upon emerging from the cave. You have absolutely no idea, kid.
For more personality quizzes check this: If Beale Street Could Talk Quiz.
