The Afterlight (2009)

63% of critics liked it
(8 reviews)
86% of users liked it
(29 ratings)

In a desolate stretch of farm country, a young couple attempts to leave their complicated past behind in hopes of starting a new life. Andrew and Claire find themselves far from their roots. They move into an old schoolhouse that sits on the edge of a farm inhabited by an elderly widow and her blind… More In a desolate stretch of farm country, a young couple attempts to leave their complicated past behind in hopes of starting a new life. Andrew and Claire find themselves far from their roots. They move into an old schoolhouse that sits on the edge of a farm inhabited by an elderly widow and her blind niece, Maria. While the local media report on an approaching solar eclipse, the arrival of Andrew and Claire sets off an elusive chain of events that will alter the lives of everyone around them. As their relationship deteriorates under the pressure of their isolation, Claire withdraws and develops an unsettling interest in Maria. And when painful memories return to haunt her, her only refuge becomes a sympathetic bid for solace she places in someone from her past. As tension builds across the countryside, a late-summer thunderstorm and the arrival of the eclipse become a catalyst for the characters to confront their darkest truths. It is not until a pale afterlight descends upon the farm in the wake of the eclipse that our characters find themselves-and their lives-changed forever. -- (C) Official Site

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 27 min.
Directed By: Alexei Kaleina, Craig Macneill
Written By: Alexei Kaleina, Craig Macneill
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Sep 10, 2010 Limited
Studio: Cinema Purgatorio

Critic Reviews

Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times
It's hard to embrace this glacially paced, symbolism-heavy film's elusive - when it's not being elliptical - story about a city couple's escape to rural life.
Bill Stamets, Chicago Sun-Times
Unfortunately, the subdued tone only adds distance, not depth, to their unstated issues.
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader
Promises more illumination than it delivers.
Ronnie Scheib, Variety
Afterlight proceeds without much discernible plot or character development, its objects and places exuding more backstory than its people, though Rip Torn as the father of the sole male protagonist lends a certain woodsy authenticity.
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times
Tempering the film's oppressive emotions, the cinematographer Zoë White's exquisite compositions charge leaden rain clouds and rustling branches with eerie life, and dusty indoor corners with shadowy secrets.
Michael Wilmington, Movie City News
The director-writer-editor pair, and cinematographer White, show a sheer love of moviemaking that often makes their film a joy to watch.
Avi Offer, NYC Movie Guru
A quietly intense, engrossing and intelligent drama brimming with haunting imagery and poignant lyricism.
, Time Out New York
[This] proudly minimalist affair favors ambiguity over soap-operatics.