‘After Ever Happy’ is the fourth film in the hugely popular ‘After’ film franchise and starts just where the third film ‘After We Fell’ ends. With new revelations made and trust broken( again!), the movie is a smooth watch and can be watched as just another film that shows instances and changing dynamics between the ever-charming protagonists.
The film starts with Hardin Scott coming to know that his family friend Christian Vance is his real father and catching his mother with Vance in an intimate stance the morning of her wedding to her fiance. Needless to say, everything goes only downhill from there. Things go back to the same vicious circle again with Hardin going back to find solace in alcohol. Hardin is drowning and is taking Tessa along with him.
Tess and Hardin are the same, going back in the same vicious circle irrespective of all that has happened to them individually and as a couple in the movie. In a way, that is how love works, we know it will end up hurting us and leaving us empty again, yet we wait for that momentary reunion that makes us feel whole again. Hero Fiennes and Josephine Langford’s seamless chemistry keeps the movie together in moments when the writing lets them down.
‘After Ever Happy’ is a slow ride but we are still engrossed by it, courtesy of the performances. From beautiful visuals to good music, the film has all the factors that are expected out of a film from the ‘After’ franchise. The moments are well bonded together. It is Netflix’s other modern teen romance drama, nothing more and certainly nothing less.
As said before, this movie doesn’t feel like a movie. It feels more like a short filler episode that continues the events of the previous film and leads us to the next one, with not many major happenings that will surprise us. That doesn’t mean what it sounds like. The movie does have huge events happening. Why it doesn’t surprise us is because the trailer pretty much showed all of them.
Netflix however will continue to greenlight more because these films will invariably get them the numbers. In fact, at least three more projects related to the film franchise are currently in development. The movie is aimed at a very specific target audience and anyone else may feel disappointed.
If you are a fan of the ‘After’ franchise, then go for the watch. ‘After Ever Happy’ has its own unique charm. If you are someone who watched the trailer but is curious about the movie and think you may like it, watching the prequels before watching this is the advice. You’d be more immersed in the story then. If you are not a fan and are just wondering whether to watch it or miss it, then do the latter.
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