The Here After review: Magnus Van Horn’s challenging debut looks at life after a crime for a young boy in an isolated Swedish town.
The Here After review
The Here After review by Luke Ryan Baldock. Sweden has always had a delightful streak of releasing dark films with an essence of hope. The Here After is one such film, looking at the themes of forgiveness and acceptance. Acceptance of not only tragedies in life, but coming to terms with our past and whether or not that dictates who we are in the present. They are deep and hard hitting ideas, but ones that never suffocate the film itself.
John (Ulrik Munther) is released from a youth offenders institute into the custody of his father. It is unclear as to what John has actually done, making this not a ‘Who done it?’ but a ‘What did they do?’ John is gradually reintroduced to society through the community and most importantly school. It is clear due to the frosty reception at his school that he has done something quite bad, further accentuated when a woman tries strangling John in a local supermarket.
The Here After review
The pieces begin to fall into place allowing us to construct a mental jigsaw of what could have transpired. This also allows for us to get to know the protagonist as he is in this moment, rather than judging him on past indiscretions. It’s a plot arc we share with Malin (Loa Ek), a young girl that takes interest in John and seems detached from whatever happened before. Munther and Ek are a great pair, with Munther making the transition from Swedish pop stardom. He’s reserved and chilling in the role, failing to react but clearly denoting a simmering anger underneath.
To match a chilling performance, the film itself is cold all over. Blues and greys are the colours of choice in the visual aesthetic, while the weather and empty silences all contribute to an unsettling atmosphere. Director Magnus Van Horn’s first feature is a masterful build-up of tension and tragedy. However, the style is unfortunately let down in a big way by the eventual reveal.
The Here After review
First of all, all of John’s development has taken place off camera before the film even starts. Whatever put him in prison is behind him and he is obviously not the same person he was. It may keep our opinions focused in the presence, but it also lessens the impact of his evolution. The biggest problem though is when we find out the details of John’s crime. The film leads us to believe that perhaps there was an accidental element to the crime, after all he is allowed back to school and both John and his father (Mats Blomgren) seem nonplussed about going back into the community. However, the crime is actually so abhorrent that it derails any sense of realism. There is no way that anybody would consider letting John back into the same school, and this just makes the script seem as though it is foolishly forcing drama and conflict.
The Here After is a strong debut from Van Horn, and it’s just unfortunate that the eventual reveal just contradicts and undermines earlier interactions. Elsewhere the film is entirely solid, with strong performances, an engaging story, and incomparable atmosphere. The quiet solitary moments are the best, such as John relaxing in the bedroom of an old friend after breaking in, or John’s interactions with his brother and grandfather. A smart and interesting film that fumbles in the final quarter.
The Here After review by Luke Ryan Baldock, February 2016.
The Here After is released in UK cinemas on 11th March.
