The Aftermath

Name: The Aftermath
Genre: Drama, Romance, War
Released: March 15, 2019
Duration: 108 min
Rating: 43
Cast: Abigail Rice, Alexander Scheer, Alexander Skarsgård, Anna Katharina Schimrigk, Fionn O'Shea

2019

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Mixed or average reviews based on 33 Critic Reviews

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Mixed or average reviews based on 28 Ratings

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6.0	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 28 Ratings

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The Aftermath: Jason Clarke On His Character 'Lewis Morgan'

Now Playing: The Aftermath: Jason Clarke On His Character 'Lewis Morgan'

Movie Details & Credits

Fox Searchlight Pictures | Release Date: March 15, 2019 | R

Starring: Abigail Rice, Alexander Scheer, Alexander Skarsgård, Anna Katharina Schimrigk, Fionn O'Shea, Flora Thiemann, Jack Laskey, Jannik Schümann, Jason Clarke, Jim High, Kate Phillips, Keira Knightley, Logan Hillier, Martin Compston, Ned Wills, Pandora Colin, Tom Bell

Summary: In 1946 postwar Germany, Rachael Morgan (Keira Knightley) arrives in the ruins of Hamburg in the bitter winter, to be reunited with her husband Lewis (Jason Clarke), a British colonel charged with rebuilding the shattered city. But as they set off for their new home, Rachael is stunned to discover that Lewis has made an unexpected decision:In 1946 postwar Germany, Rachael Morgan (Keira Knightley) arrives in the ruins of Hamburg in the bitter winter, to be reunited with her husband Lewis (Jason Clarke), a British colonel charged with rebuilding the shattered city. But as they set off for their new home, Rachael is stunned to discover that Lewis has made an unexpected decision: They will be sharing the grand house with its previous owners, a German widower (Alexander Skarsgård) and his troubled daughter. In this charged atmosphere, enmity and grief give way to passion and betrayal.… Expand

Director: James Kent

Genre(s): Drama, Romance, War

Rating: R

Runtime: 108 min

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Critic Reviews

Melissa Yeager

Mar 21, 2019

Those who enjoy either World War II movies or period dramas likely will enjoy this movie, even if some of the plot twists are predictable. It's an enjoyable deviation from the typical war story, but if there were more layers of warmth and stronger emotional connections between the characters, it could have built to a more satisfying conclusion. Read full review

Empire Helen O'Hara

Feb 26, 2019

The bones of the story have been played a million times, but a talented and committed cast make this swoonsome rather than samey. Read full review

Mike D'Angelo

Mar 13, 2019

Much of the book’s emotional context appears to have been lost in translation. Read full review

Rex Reed

Mar 19, 2019

The melodrama, unfortunately, is not always convincing. The quality of the acting is so strong that the emotional impact is undeniable. Knightley is so gorgeous, Skarsgård, the Swedish heartthrob, is so decent, and Clarke is so noble in the way he hides his vulnerability, that I liked them all. Read full review

Marjorie Baumgarten

Mar 27, 2019

The sadness harbored by all the film’s characters is evident. Their passions, however, stem from ginned-up claptrap about love and hate being opposite expressions of one overwhelming emotion which can also substitute for each other. Read full review

The Guardian Peter Bradshaw

Feb 18, 2019

It is more of a holiday romance and the well-intentioned performances lead nowhere. Read full review

Johnny Oleksinski

Mar 14, 2019

The drama is a crude blend of history and pulpy romance, with maudlin performances from the two leads. Read full review

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User Reviews

Habibiehakim

Jun 22, 2021

The Aftermath leaving one of the most satisfying ending in movie i've ever seen, it's smart, it's realistic, and it's right, The Aftermath didn't make the bad side as a protagonist, and that's the thing that "Tulip Fever" do and the result is making that film the movie i hate the most, TheThe Aftermath leaving one of the most satisfying ending in movie i've ever seen, it's smart, it's realistic, and it's right, The Aftermath didn't make the bad side as a protagonist, and that's the thing that "Tulip Fever" do and the result is making that film the movie i hate the most, The Aftermath is fills with an incredible perfomance by all the cast too, overall The Aftermath is smart, realistic, and incredible, i highly recommended.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Wilbur67

Mar 16, 2019

Brilliant, atmospheric film about a time in history most of us in the West know little about. So many films around occupied France and the allied resistance but after the war in occupied Germany, with Nazi Resistence groups is an interesting new take. Glorious sets and very goodBrilliant, atmospheric film about a time in history most of us in the West know little about. So many films around occupied France and the allied resistance but after the war in occupied Germany, with Nazi Resistence groups is an interesting new take. Glorious sets and very good performances, especially from Alexander Skarsgård as the widower trying to keep some kind of civility and calm amongst chaos. Forget the critics, this is entertaining, thought provoking and thrilling. Go see!!… Expand

0 of 3 users found this helpful03

Aug 23, 2019

This movie acquainted me with a period of time about which I had learned nothing in history class, and I found the drama both depressing and extremely compelling. Although the story progressed slowly, the actors did an excellent job of building and maintaining the dramatic tension among theThis movie acquainted me with a period of time about which I had learned nothing in history class, and I found the drama both depressing and extremely compelling. Although the story progressed slowly, the actors did an excellent job of building and maintaining the dramatic tension among the characters; and so the movie engaged and held my attention to the very end.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

JoeCool

Jun 16, 2019

Well acted, though not very exciting. Rather predictable slow story that brings literally nothing new. The post-war setting is believable enough though the romance part feels more than just a bit weird. It's an acceptable way to pass the time, though at some point it just gets overlyWell acted, though not very exciting. Rather predictable slow story that brings literally nothing new. The post-war setting is believable enough though the romance part feels more than just a bit weird. It's an acceptable way to pass the time, though at some point it just gets overly sentimental. You can continue to look at the beautiful people from that point on, but any real interest you might have had in the characters may start to fade away. They didn't need a post-war setting to tell this story.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

hnestlyonthesly

Oct 7, 2019

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Aftermath never claimed to be anything more than its modest trailer: a fiery forbidden romance between a British housewife and a suspected Nazi in post-war Germany. It’s a little more feelsy than, say, Lady Macbeth, but it’s hard to imagine it aspiring to anything so great. It’s good to see Jason Clarke getting work out there (the week before Pet Sematary‘s remake).

This movie did a better job of hiding some central tensions from the audience in its trailer than we expected. I won’t go into too much detail because this movie isn’t plot heavy enough to withstand too much of an analysis without revealing a lot of the action of the movie entirely, but at a certain point it dawned on me that we were watching the story of three very understanding people coping with an awkward relationship more than a period piece about the aftermath of the Second World War.

The first half of this film is a fairly exciting story: insurgent attacks, illicit sex, and German jokes at Keira Knightley’s expense. As things progress, the story falls into the tracks of a more conventional romance. Wife mentioned at one crucial point in the climax that she had been suspecting something would happen with the daughter’s allegiance to an organization that would reveal her to be more duplicitous than she seemed after the makeover scene. She says that the scene on the frozen river after the car ride back from the party was so unexpected and disorienting that she could have believed any permutation of the scene to play out, which seems like high praise. She also really liked the twisty ending.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

JLuis_001

May 26, 2019

I blame the director more than anything.
The story wasn't bad and the actors tried but it's so insipid and boring that you never gain interest in the characters or their conflict.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Mauro_Lanari

Aug 6, 2019

(Mauro Lanari)
It would have been legitimate and proper to expect a film on reconciliation, one of those dear to Robert Benton ("Places in the Heart", 1984). Nothing like that. It's a soap opera that could be set in any other place and time. Better yet: in the trash.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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