I took a few days off after completing “The Green Ray” and pondered taking a different direction in my next scene-by-scene movie analysis. I’ve decided to go with the 2022 film “Aftersun” by first time director Charlotte Wells.

This is a departure for me in several ways. First, it’s a three year old movie, which finally brings me into the 21st century. It’s also the first movie I’ve examined that was written and directed by a woman — and it’s also the first debut film that I’ve taken up.

“Aftersun” is also a movie that I’m not all that familiar with — I just saw it for the first time recently. The movie has a very passionate fan base and there are numerous YouTube videos and blogs about (and in support of) the film. This is partially what’s inspired me to write about it.

It’s not that the writing and talk about “Aftersun” is off-base, I just find it incredibly reductive. Much of the writing revolves around trying to “solve” the film and answer a very specific question about the ending. I find much of this analysis annoying because the movie is ambiguous on purpose. To assign one particular interpretation to it is to take some of the authorship away from Charlotte Wells. If she intended a simple, clear explanation at the film’s ending, she was completely capable of giving it to the audience.

The more interesting question is why did Wells take so many steps throughout the film to conceal her meaning and the plot of the film? Was the film an attempt to psychologically understand the father or to find lasting joy in the girl’s last strong memories of their relationship?

Otherwise, I expect this project to go much like the others I’ve taken on. “Aftersun” is a slightly longer movie than the ones I’ve looked at so far, so it may take me more chapters. I expect the project to wrap sometime around Christmas Day.

By the way, Charlotte Wells is expected to follow up “Aftersun” with a biopic of Blondie front woman Debbie Harry. While I’m a fan of Harry’s music, I despise musician biopics (they’re all the rage now because studios buy out the musician catalogues, then cash in with renewed interest after the movies come out) and hope that Wells isn’t selling out after one movie to make dough churning out Hollywood crap from here on out. She’s an interesting voice and I hope she sticks with making real movies.