The Aftermath reviews: What do critics say about the Keira Knightley WW2 drama
THE AFTERMATH headed to cinemas yesterday and though the drama looks beautiful, it hasn't fared as well with critics.
The Aftermath: Keira Knightley stars in dramatic trailer
Given its A-list cast and beautifully manicured aesthetics, The Aftermath seemed poised for box office success. The historical drama stars Keira Knightley, Alexander Skarsgard, and Jason Clarke. Together, the trio is embroiled in a post-WW2 love triangle against the backdrop of a bombed out Hamburg.
What do critics say about The Aftermath?
Despite its beauty, both in scenery and its cast, The Aftermath has not done with critics.
The Rotten Tomatoes critics' consensus reads: "Tasteful to a fault, The Aftermath is worth seeking out only for the most passionate period drama enthusiasts."
With a 43 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the film is not 'certified fresh' according to the site.
Eric Kohn for indieWire
As elegant post-war dramas about dark, romantic entanglements go, The Aftermath delivers the bare minimum.
John DeFore for the Hollywood Reporter
Where it might have been an old-fashioned melodrama with credible historical appeal, instead it suggests an old-school celluloid epic whose print has lost a reel or two.
Peter Bradshaw for the Guardian
The well-intentioned performances lead nowhere.
Guy Lodge for Variety
Will please a select audience starved for grown-up comfort viewing...
Geoffrey Macnab for the Independent
Much of the darkness and primal emotion you might expect to find in such a story is strained out.
Jamie East for The Sun
There is a great film to be made here. Sadly, this isn't it.
Brian Viner for the Daily Mail
It's that kind of film, I'm afraid. One in which the snow is deeper than the characters, and the parquet floors less wooden than the plot.
Eddie Harrison for The List
The cliches featured in director James Kent's adaptation of Rhidian Brook's novel are more dog-eared than a ration book.
Adam Sweeting for The Arts Desk
The Aftermath ultimately suffers from being far too uncritical of itself.
Caryn James for BBC.com
The Aftermath arrives as a mildly engaging trifle that might have worked better as a miniseries.
Danny Leigh for the Financial Times
Chuff goes the steam train that carries us into The Aftermath, a teatime-handsome period drama from director James Kent.
Helen O'Hara for Empire Magazine
The bones of the story have been played a million times, but a talented and committed cast make this swoonsome rather than samey.
Elena Lazic for Little White Lies
The pressure that all three protagonists are under feels genuinely affecting, as the film knows to linger on the morally thorny and painful moments that its story entails.
Matt Rodgers for Flickering Myth
There's an interesting story to be found somewhere in the darker recesses of The Aftermath, but it tends to be more concerned with the lightweight dalliances of its rather dull central characters to leave any aftermath of its own with the audience.
Mark Monahan for the Daily Telegraph
You may well enjoy this unusual love story: for its performances, its strong sense of time and place, and its vivid reminder that a war's official end is never really anything of the kind.
The Aftermath is now playing in cinemas.