The conclusion of Aftersun leaves room for interpretation, as it does not offer a definitive resolution to its central question.
Charlotte Wells makes her directorial debut with this film, centering on Sophie (Frankie Corio), a young Scottish girl vacationing with her single father, Calum (Paul Mescal), at a Turkish resort.
Calum, recently separated from his wife, sees this trip as an opportunity to strengthen his bond with Sophie as he approaches his 31st birthday. Throughout the film, fragmented scenes of a rave and Calum dancing are interwoven with their vacation moments.
The rave sequences reflect Calum’s unseen battle with himself (Photo: Aftersun/Pastel, Unified Theory)Going through themes of love, memory, depression, and guilt, Aftersun presents its story through Sophie’s perspective, both literally and figuratively.
The film has been met with critical praise for its performances, storytelling approach, and emotional depth. It portrays the problems of human emotions, highlighting how people often mask their struggles from those closest to them.
While Aftersun captures the warmth of a vacation experience filled with relatable and striking visuals, its conclusion remains ambiguous. However, several clues throughout the tale provide insight into its meaning.
What Happens in the Aftersun Ending
As Aftersun reaches its final moments, Sophie and Calum share a heartfelt dance on the last night of their vacation. Their joyful embrace is juxtaposed with images of Calum dancing alone at an undefined rave.
The following sequence shows them at the airport, where Calum waves goodbye as Sophie departs to return to her mother’s home. The scene then moves, revealing that this moment is part of a home video being watched by the adult Sophie (Celia Rowlson-Hall).
The film shares similarities with other emotionally charged vacation dramas, such as Call Me By Your Name and The Lost Daughter. Sophie, now grown, is seen with her own family as she revisits footage from her childhood trip with Calum.
The scene reverts to young Sophie waving to her father at the airport, but this time, the camera perspective changes to show Calum holding the camcorder that Sophie had used throughout their journey. Breaking the fourth wall, Calum films the audience from a starkly lit hallway filled with buzzing halogen lights.
After a moment of stillness, he lowers the camera and turns toward two doors at the end of the corridor. As he steps through them, they lead into the same rave that has appeared repeatedly in the film. The doors shut behind him, marking the film’s transition into the closing credits.
Calum Likely Ended His Own Life After the Vacation
Although Aftersun does not explicitly confirm Calum’s fate, strong indications suggest that he took his own life after the events of the film. Several moments throughout the movie hint at his emotional turmoil.
In an early scene, he absentmindedly steps in front of a moving bus. While nothing happens, his detached reaction implies reckless behavior and an unstable mindset.
Calum keeps many struggles hidden from Sophie, including his financial difficulties and his smoking habit. He immerses himself in Tai Chi and self-help books, but these efforts seem to offer little solace.
“There are moments when a character challenges your comfort zone,” Paul Mescal noted about the role. “But this wasn’t one where I felt hesitant. I didn’t know exactly how it would unfurl, but I had a deep instinctual connection to him.”
During a conversation with a diving instructor, Calum reveals that he never expected to reach 30 and doubts he will see 40. The film presents various signals that his depression is leading him toward suicide, making his solitary nighttime swim particularly haunting.
Viewers might question if this is the last time they see him alive. Although he emerges from the water, he later breaks down in his hotel room, crying as he looks at letters he has written to Sophie.
Throughout these instances, an air of sadness and detachment lingers over Calum. Despite moments of connection, he finds little joy in their trip.
The numerous hints scattered throughout the film, combined with its concluding moments, strongly imply that Calum died not long after their vacation.
As adult Sophie watches old footage, it becomes apparent that she is searching for signs of his struggles—clues she had been unaware of as a child.
Sophie Uses the Camcorder to Piece Together Her Father’s Struggles
Throughout the film, Sophie remains unaware of Calum’s inner turmoil. She doesn’t realize he smokes, fails to grasp why he reacts strongly when she loses an expensive diving mask, and doesn’t understand why he finds it humiliating that he cannot afford a rug he admires.
From her perspective, she is simply a child enjoying a vacation with her father, capturing moments on her camcorder. Many scenes open out from her point of view, emphasizing her limited understanding at the time.
As an adult, Sophie revisits these recordings in an attempt to comprehend what she once missed. However, there are events, such as Calum crying after his night swim, that she never witnessed firsthand.
The home videos become a tool for her to search for overlooked warning signs, desperately hoping to pinpoint where she could have intervened. The film, however, makes it clear—there was no single moment she could have changed.
At eleven years old, Sophie lacked the awareness to recognize her father’s financial and emotional struggles. The scenes in which Calum experiences complete despair are ones she was never present for.
Only with maturity does she begin to connect the missing pieces and recognize that beneath his smiles, he was carrying an unbearable weight.
The Rug in Sophie’s Apartment Holds a Deep Connection
A brief but poignant moment near the end of the film gives added importance to an earlier scene. In Sophie’s adult home, a large ornate rug hangs prominently on her wall. During their trip to Turkey, Calum had taken her to a shop where he encouraged her to select one.
Although he initially couldn’t afford it, he later returned alone to purchase it in secret. The fact that the rug remains in Sophie’s home years later serves as a silent testament to their enduring bond. This detail underscores the depth of their love, even in his absence.
The Symbolism of Calum and Sophie’s Dance to “Under Pressure”
Throughout the movie, Calum repeatedly declines opportunities to sing or dance. He refuses to join Sophie for karaoke when she performs “Losing My Religion” and reacts somberly when a group sings “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow” on his birthday.
Yet, on their final night together, he invites Sophie to dance with him. They embrace and sway to David Bowie and Queen’s Under Pressure.
Sophie and Calum share a final dance before their goodbye (Photo: Aftersun/Pastel, Unified Theory)The choice of song directly reflects Calum’s state of mind, emphasizing the immense stress and emotional burden he carries.
The lyrics near the song’s conclusion—”This is our last dance / This is our last dance / This is ourselves under pressure / Under pressure / Under pressure”—carry a heavy sense of foreshadowing.
The opening lines, “Under pressure that burns a building down / Splits a family in two / Puts people on streets,” also hold deep meaning. “Splitting a family in two” mirrors Calum’s experience with his divorce, while “Puts people on streets” alludes to his financial hardship.
The Rave Scenes Represent Calum’s Emotional Struggle
Scattered throughout Aftersun are intense rave sequences, where an adult Sophie tries and fails to connect with Calum. These scenes are not literal but serve as a visualization of Sophie’s realization of her father’s internal battle.
Calum’s movements are not joyful—his dancing is erratic, his expressions pained. These scenes represent the turmoil in his mind during their trip. The flashing lights and chaotic atmosphere mirror the distress he was experiencing, which Sophie only comes to understand later in life.
By the film’s end, when Calum walks through the doors back into the rave, it symbolizes his inability to escape his struggles, reinforcing the implication of his tragic fate.
The True Meaning Behind Aftersun’s Conclusion
Rather than explicitly laying out what the audience should feel, Aftersun conveys its themes through subtle yet powerful storytelling. Its exploration of sorrow, nostalgia, and loss is deeply intertwined with the fragmented nature of memory.
Calum never openly expresses his pain to Sophie, at least not in a way a child could comprehend. The audience, however, is given a window into his suffering. Even with this deeper insight, his fate remains somewhat ambiguous.
The film powerfully demonstrates that depression often manifests in ways that even loved ones fail to recognize. While revisiting memories may bring sadness, it also allows for a greater understanding of those who are gone.
Sophie carries both grief and cherished moments from their time together, along with the rug that remains a symbol of their connection. Acceptance may take time, but as the film suggests, the process of mourning never truly ends—it evolves over a lifetime.
