An interesting storyline for a film, the movie After Love deals with the subject of actively pursuing the reason for cheating. Aleem Kahn, director for the drama, takes you into the life of a widow who accidently finds herself embroiled in a let live or let down. Nicely played out, the production is worth the watch.
After the untimely death of her husband Ahmen (Nasser Memarzia), Mary (Joanna Scanlan), a Muslim convert living in Dover England, prays to Allah for a new path in life. Alone she continues her daily routine. Going over his personal effects she comes across an ID card for a Genevieve Longuet (Nathalie Richard) living across the English Channel in Belgium. His cell phone reveals a possible affair he is having with the woman. Very disturbed, she decides to find out who Genevieve is with the information gathered by Ahmen’s texting on the cell. But, Mary’s face to face meeting takes a strange turn of events that gets her mistaken for the new cleaning lady that Genevieve just hired.
The film goes on from there taking some unexpected turns and putting the two on the path for an unsettling future. Director Aleem Kahn keeps the charade going throughout the film building his characters to a point of facing the reality of it all. He uses some empathy to challenge his audience with his inevitable conclusion.
After Love has not been rated but contains brief sexuality, partial nudity, and some profanity. The film has a lot of heart and hurt. Recommended.
Additional Film Information:
Cast: Janna Scanlan, Nathali4e Richard, Nasser Mamarzia, Talid Ariss.
Directed By: Aleem Kahn
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: Not rated but does contain some brief sexuality/nudity and language
Running Time: 1 hr. 30 min.
Opening Date: January 20,2023
Distributed by: Vertigo Releasing
Released in: Theaters USA, Canada
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com