After This Death

The artist as a reluctant idol, detached from the influence they wield, is fertile ground for storytelling. Add to that an illicit romance set against the eerie expanse of upstate New York in autumn, and Lucio Castro’s After This Death sounds perfectly primed for a haunting, psychologically rich experience. Yet, despite the striking visuals and moody atmosphere, it struggles to deliver an emotional core, resulting in a work that is more aesthetically compelling than narratively engaging.

Unfolding against the vast, golden-hued forests of upstate New York, the feature boasts a sublime, Hudson River School-inspired beauty courtesy of cinematographer Barton Cortright. The result is a film that looks stunning but remains narratively anaemic, a study in mood over substance.

At its centre is Isabel (Mia Maestro), a married voice actor, and Elliot (Lee Pace), the enigmatic lead singer and unofficial frontman of an MGMT-esque electro-indie duo. The affair begins in the seclusion of a hiking trail, giving the picture a Hitchcockian sense of isolation. The vastness of the wilderness, coupled with Elliot’s uneasy fame, hints at an intriguing psychological tension that never quite materialises. The actors’ body language is stilted, their chemistry non-existent, and the dialogue offers little beyond the functional. What should be an all-consuming romance is driven by the narrative instead of passion.

Elliot, the story’s focal point, is an underground sensation and so recognisable that a middle-aged man approaches him in his car in the middle of the woods. There are shades of the reclusive, reluctant musical icons of the past in his character, a performer who insists he is not responsible for the effect his work has on his devotees. His bandmate, Ronnie, tells Isabel that their fans listen only to the frontman, a revelation that hints at the film’s most intriguing and underdeveloped idea: the disconnect between artists and those who consume their work. 

Caestro aspires for a haunting exploration of desire and creative detachment but, without genuine passion or psychological depth, forests and eerie beauty, After This Death remains hollow for all its lonely forests and eerie beauty.

Christina Yang

After This Death does not have a release date yet.

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