アフター －砕かれる心－

I seem to recall seeing the previous episode of this trilogy in the cinema - a beneficiary of the lockdown dearth that propelled some serious dross onto the big screen. This, mercifully, never found a home there and so could be watched, half-heartedly, from the comfort of my own living room. The rather uninspiring, self-indulgent characterisations of "Tess" (Josephine Langford) and "Hardin" (Hero Fiennes Tiffin) continue to vacillate from loving to loathing each other for reasons that continued to escape me after the first two films. The narrative reminded me of a visualisation of letters one might have written to a lonely hearts column - each problem being acted out on screen by the pair, before the scenario resets (for good or ill) and off we go again. To be fair, they are both quite easy on the eye, but their frequent, creatively photographed, sex scenes accompanied by some mediocre AOR soundtrack quickly start to wear thin. Perhaps I am just too old for this, but I just found their on/off relationship, their secret keeping about things that couldn't matter a jot to anyone, let alone to those who purport to "love" one and other, really boring. The truly stilted dialogue and delivery (especially from HFT, complete with a his unique set of "letraset" tattoos) ) contrive to make this a real dirge of a watch. Watch out, there's another one coming too....

This is the point in the movie where everything goes haywire, veering off a cliff into confusion, leaving you wondering what you're even watching. Felt like a repetition without the depth of a storyline, filled with plot holes and rushed scenes that felt forced. If you're going to commit to a franchise, then commit wholeheartedly. Unfortunately, this installment falls short, making it the weakest link in the trilogy.