{"id":11108,"date":"2025-02-13T17:44:04","date_gmt":"2025-02-13T22:44:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/?p=11108"},"modified":"2025-02-13T17:44:04","modified_gmt":"2025-02-13T22:44:04","slug":"after-the-wedding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/2025\/02\/13\/after-the-wedding\/","title":{"rendered":"After the Wedding"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"After the Wedding <\/strong>(2019)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Sony Pictures Classics\/Drama\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 112 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated PG-13 (thematic material, some strong language)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Bart Freundlich\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Bart Freundlich\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Mychael Danna\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Julio Macat\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: August 9, 2019 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Julianne Moore, Michelle Williams, Billy Crudup, Abby Quinn, Alex Esola, Will Chase, Susan Blackwell, Vir Pachisia, Eisa Davis, Azhy Robertson, Tre Ryder.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Box Office: $2.9M (US)<\/p>\n

Rating<\/strong>: ***<\/p>\n

\u00a0Don\u2019t ask me to compare the Americanized remake of After the Wedding<\/strong> with Susanne Bier\u2019s Danish-made original. I never saw the original film. I\u2019m currently taking steps to rectify that. I was going to wait to write it up but then I thought it would be interesting to try reviewing it unencumbered by what I\u2019m told is a superior film. By definition, a remake is almost always inferior to the original. I have a feeling that once I see the 2006 film, I\u2019m going to like Bart Freundlich\u2019s (The Myth of Fingerprints) take on it less. For now, I like it just fine.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The big difference between the two films is that the two lead characters in the new After the Wedding<\/strong> are women instead of men. They are Isabel (Williams, The Greatest Showman), an American woman running an orphanage in India, and Theresa (Moore, Still Alice), the high-powered businesswoman willing to become their primary benefactor with a sizable donation. Of course, the offer comes with a condition. She wants Isabel (and only Isabel) to come to New York and meet with her personally to discuss it. Isabel is none too happy about coming home after turning her back on Western civilization about 20 years earlier. She agrees to make the trip with the understanding that she will need to get back to India in time for a birthday party for the little boy, Jai (Pachisia), to whom she\u2019s become close.<\/p>\n

\u00a0When Isabel arrives in NY, she\u2019s given the royal treatment with deluxe accommodations and a driver at her disposal but it doesn\u2019t impress her at all. Her meeting with Theresa doesn\u2019t go as planned. Theresa is preoccupied with planning her daughter Grace\u2019s (Quinn, Landline) wedding that weekend. Saying that she needs a few days to make a final decision about her donation, she invites Isabel to the wedding at her family\u2019s estate. She arrives late and takes a seat in the back. That\u2019s when she notices Theresa\u2019s husband Oscar (Crudup, Almost Famous). It turns out they know each other. The surprise (?) encounter brings back a painful secret from the past, one that will affect a few people.<\/p>\n

\u00a0There are many dramatic twists and turns in After the Wedding<\/strong>, none of which I\u2019ll be revealing. I\u2019m aware that those familiar with the original film already know what I\u2019m talking about. I also know that other reviewers are spilling the beans about the plot developments. I choose to remain silent for the benefit of those who haven\u2019t seen the first movie and are reading this review. What I can tell you is that the two biggest bombshells aren\u2019t all that surprising if you pay attention. There\u2019s an unwritten rule that states that no action taken by a main character, no matter how small and seemingly insignificant, is unimportant. If the director takes the time to show it, it probably means something. Watch Theresa as she goes through her daily routine at home. I don\u2019t want to be more specific but when I saw her do this one thing, I knew immediately what was coming later. That\u2019s all I have to say about that.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The first thing that struck me about After the Wedding<\/strong> is how old-fashioned it is. In an age when every drama comes drenched in self-importance, Freundlich goes for pure melodrama. This is a movie that relies on dramatic revelations and how the characters react to them. Thematically, it touches on the cultural expectations our society places on women, motherhood in particular. Sadly (but not overly so), Freundlich fails to explore it in any meaningful way. Really, he glosses over it. While it would have added substance, I was less concerned about that than how I felt about the characters. One of the problems I have with some independent filmmakers- e.g. Noah Baumbach (Margot at the Wedding, Frances Ha)- is that they populate their films with unlikable characters. The only other film of Freundlich\u2019s I\u2019ve seen is 1997\u2019s The Myth of Fingerprints and I hated it. I couldn\u2019t stand anybody in it. I was afraid of a similar experience with After the Wedding<\/strong>. While I can\u2019t everybody in it is a lovely person, nobody gave me the urge to reach through the screen and strangle them with my bare hands. That has to count for something, right?<\/p>\n

\u00a0I suppose what After the Wedding<\/strong> really has going for it is two strong performances from its leading ladies. Watch Williams closely. She has this amazing ability to convey her feelings through body language alone. Look at how she carries herself in her first meetings with Theresa. It\u2019s clear that she\u2019s uncomfortable in such opulent surroundings. There\u2019s also a hint of resentment towards her potential benefactor who places more importance on serving lobster at her daughter\u2019s wedding than the future of the orphanage. It\u2019s not what Isabel says, it\u2019s how she says it. Listen to the stilted manner with which she speaks to Theresa. As the film progresses, she slowly lowers her guard as she begins to understand what\u2019s really at stake. Moore, Freundlich\u2019s real life spouse, delivers her usual amazing performance as a strong woman used to getting her way. At the same time, there\u2019s a vulnerability to her. We don\u2019t see it right away but it\u2019s there.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Quinn, a relative newcomer, shows great promise as the young daughter experiencing buyer\u2019s remorse soon after the nuptials. Like any young bride, she has doubts. These doubts do spring, in part, from the secret that comes out after the wedding. Crudup does fine with what little he\u2019s given to do. He has some good scenes but much of the time, he feels more like a plot device than a character.<\/p>\n

\u00a0My feelings about After the Wedding<\/strong> can be described as positive. Not having seen the original, I probably like it better than I would if I had. It held my interest. I even found it a little bit moving. Moore has a scene near the end that\u2019s positively wrenching. In my opinion, it\u2019s a good movie. Of course, I\u2019ll reevaluate after I see the original which I hope is soon. It\u2019s so hard to find time for these things.\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After the Wedding (2019)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Sony Pictures Classics\/Drama\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 112 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated PG-13 (thematic material, some strong language)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Bart Freundlich\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Bart Freundlich\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Mychael Danna\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Julio Macat\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: August 9, 2019 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Julianne Moore, Michelle Williams, Billy Crudup, Abby Quinn, Alex Esola, Will Chase, Susan Blackwell, Vir Pachisia, Eisa Davis, Azhy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11153,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dramas"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/After-the-Wedding-PIC.jpg?fit=620%2C348&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11108"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11108\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11155,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11108\/revisions\/11155"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}