AFTER WE FELL

AFTER WE FELL is the third movie installment based on a young adult book series by Anna Todd.

In the beginning of AFTER WE FELL, Tessa’s father appears out of the blue after nine years away. He’s an alcoholic and claims to want a relationship with his estranged daughter. However, Hardin, Tessa’s on-again, off-again boyfriend, is skeptical of his motives. The two go to a bar and bond over drinks, only to get into a bar fight. When Tessa arrives on the scene, she’s disgruntled with both her dad and Hardin, both of whom are alcoholics. Hardin and Tessa make up, but they’ve got some big decisions on the horizon.

Tessa has accepted a job with Vance Publishing in Seattle, but Hardin doesn’t want to go with her. It’s clear to Tessa that she and Hardin aren’t communicating, especially after she learns from one of her colleagues that Hardin turned down a job offer from Vance Publishing without her knowledge.

Tessa and Hardin take a weekend trip to their friend’s Landon’s house. What should have been a retreat for the pair turns into their routine jealousy match. Hardin reconnects with an old friend at lunch. In response, Tessa flirts with the waiter. They return home, only for Tessa to pack up and head to Seattle without telling Hardin goodbye.

When Hardin realizes Tessa is gone, he turns to alcohol and reads her journals, which are mainly about their back-and-forth relationship. From cities far away, Tessa and Hardin continue to communicate and miss one another. Hardin claims he just wants Tessa to be happy. Tessa settles into her new normal in Seattle, but will it be enough without Hardin by her side?

AFTER WE FELL has some good acting and production quality and a good plot twist. Also, the lead characters show some slight character development from the previous movie, AFTER WE COLLIDED, but still are a long way away from character transformation. Scenes in the movie are shot at scenic locations and have some solid long shots, but overall, the back-and-forth nature of the leads’ romantic relationship makes the whole movie feel like a stop and go watch, rather than smooth sailing.

AFTER WE FELL has a strong Romantic worldview. Characters stress happiness above all else, but the happiness they reference goes hand in hand with lust. Many characters act with pagan motivations and avoid their issues by having sex and acting out in jealously, which ends up hurting others. Positively, there’s a pro-marriage sentiment as a mother gets married. The movie also contains a light emphasis on taking care of others when they’re at their lowest and a desire to have honesty in a relationship. However, AFTER WE FELL contains explicit depictions of fornication, alcohol abuse and lots of strong, gratuitous foul language. Also, one woman says she has a girlfriend. AFTER WE FELL is excessive and abhorrent.