![]() ![]() There’s been a distinct and deliberate attempt to acknowledge his age, and to try and move away from the larger than life persona, and subsequently the characters he’s normally known for. ![]() Among a failed attempt at franchise resurrection with Terminator Genisys, Arnold has tried to vary his roles and attempt to branch out into more grounded, human roles. In truth he spent the late 90’s, and the early part of the new millennium in a steep decline before his political sabbatical. Since returning to movies following his stint as the Governator, Arnold Schwarzenegger has had a mixed bag of films. Inspired by actual events, AFTERMATH tells a story of guilt and revenge after an air traffic controller’s (Scoot McNairy) error causes the death of a construction foreman’s (Arnold Schwarzenegger) wife and daughter. Two strangers’ lives become inextricably bound together after a devastating plane crash. Yes, it’s utterly strange to see Schwarzenegger emoting on such a raw level and framed with such gritty cinematography as he zombie-walks through his days, but it works - Arnold may have just reinvented his career yet again.Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Scoot McNairy, Maggie Grace, Kevin Zegers, Hannah Ware, and Glenn Morshower. The film doesn’t need the sappy stuff when it’s got these performances at its center. Still, the climax proves quite shocking - that is, until the final few seconds, when Lester forces a symbolic moment that just does not fly. On a metaphorical level, Javier Gullón's script handles these two characters just like the planes that collided mid-flight: We know they will meet, and that whatever they’ve tried to do to correct their patterns will ultimately explode in a horrific way we also know absolutely nothing about the other planes/people buzzing around them. Such rookie mistakes can take you out of the picture, and Lester ( Nightingale, Love Is the Drug) should know better, though I recall more similar falterings in Nightingale. The acting here is good, but something is off in the production design: There’s the too-neat, almost stenciled harassing messages painted in red on Jacob’s house, or the way, when a guy tells Roman that he’s doing a good job building a fence and needs to take a break, it’s pretty clear that the only thing Roman has done is pry off a few boards. ![]() “I don’t even get to say goodbye?” he asks in a panic, misreading her intentions. It’s like he’s just seen her for the first time in weeks. McNairy’s overshadowed by his bearded-and-burly costar’s anguish acrobatics, but we see glints of greatness in the way Jacob’s eyes spark when his wife (Maggie Grace) tells him she’s taking their child away for a while. Later, Roman has to somehow clean his house, go to work and not think about how weeks earlier he pulled his daughter’s limp body from a tree.Īlternately, we’re fed the storyline of Jacob (Scoot McNairy), the air-traffic controller who’s in the hot seat even when the crash was caused by tech malfunctions. Without revealing his connection, he volunteers at the crash site to search for remains the moment he finds his daughter strapped into a seat belt and hanging from a tree isn’t milked for more drama than need be but affords Arnold his moment of sincere sobbing. You think any Schwarzenegger character, even a sad one, is going to settle for that? He’s then offered a paltry sum and counseling for his loss. He chatters nervously at them about his family’s papers being in order, but he’s not here for immigration woes - though let’s not take for granted the power of that real-life fear. While waiting for his wife and daughter’s plane to arrive from Kiev, Roman gets ushered by airline personnel into a back room. Lester, however, can’t resist throwing in some easy, cheesy symbolism to slop it up.īefore the crash, Roman’s toddling around like the animated grandpa-to-be that he is. The story necessitates ceaseless sadness, which can grind, but for the most part Aftermath glides just above the wreckage with its leads’ performances. The film - based on the true events of a Russian architect who tracked down and murdered the air-traffic controller he considered responsible for the death of his wife and daughter - features Arnold as Roman, a construction foreman whose life falls apart after a deadly crash. And in Elliott Lester’s grief drama Aftermath, the ripped Renaissance man does a subtle, absorbing performance of despair so unlike his other work that his lined and laden face at times seems nearly unrecognizable on that bulging body. No matter your opinion of Arnold Schwarzenegger as a person, you can’t deny this: The man is a doer. ![]()
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