A simple, bittersweet love story for the ages.
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After Everything borrows the idea of a cancer trope love story but doesn’t play into the stereotype, making it a fresh addition to the growing roster of terminal romance movies (The Fault in Our Stars, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl).
Young couple Elliot and Mia’s story begins with a tough challenge. Elliot finds out that he has Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare type of bone cancer. Despite knowing this, he and Mia still pursue a relationship and what follows is a whirlwind romance and their journey together as Elliot undergoes chemotherapy treatment. The illness only drives them closer rather than apart and on a whim, Elliot decides to propose to Mia.
Initially premiered at South by Southwest with the apt title Shotgun, After Everything has their central characters throwing down pretty hard in the first act. Their relationship soon begins working backwards after Elliot has a successful surgery. The film is self-aware enough to address this issue as presented in a scene in Mia’s childhood room where the married couple discuss their past sexual encounters. By the third act, the young couple realises that the real challenge wasn’t fighting the cancer but rather living with the after effects of surviving it.
The real tragedy of this film is not the illness but rather the loss of love that happens. Jeremy Allen White and Maika Monroe’s undeniable chemistry as Elliot and Mia makes this reality all the more heartbreaking. The pair carry the film with genuine performances, making this a simple, bittersweet love story for the ages. A solid effort from first time writer-director duo, Hannah Marks and Joey Power.
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