Jeremy Allen White has a commanding presence. Whether he’s the troubled but brilliant New York chef Carmy Berzatto in FX’s The Bear or the successful but haunted professional wrestler Kerry Von Erich in The Iron Claw, Allen shows how to make his character the one that you can’t take your eyes off of in each scene. Before his recent success and recognition from this show and movie, Allen was known for his recurring role on Showtime’s Shameless. During the show’s decade-long run, White was carving out a name for himself on the big screen during that time with critically acclaimed but mostly unseen Afterschool, We Gotta Get Out of This Place Bobby, and co-directors Hannah Marks (Don’t Make Me Go, Turtles All the Way Down) and Joey Power’s romantic dramedy After Everything.
White stars as Elliot, a cocky 23-year-old, fresh out of college underachiever who, when not working at a hole-in-the-wall sandwich shop, can often be found smoking marijuana and playing video games on his tattered sofa when he’s not trying to hook up with new partners as frequently as possible. Assuming he contracted an STD, Elliot meets with a doctor, only to discover he has Ewing sarcoma, a bone cancer usually found in children.
At this time, Elliot also begins pursuing Mia (Maika Monroe –Watcher, It Follows), a regular at his deli, who initially brushes off his advances. It felt out of place that he would seek out a new relationship while going through chemotherapy and radiation. Perhaps he wanted a meaningful connection during the uncertainty. Regardless, this part of the story felt slightly out of place. It may have been more believable if their relationship had started before his diagnosis. Would Mia enter that messiness with someone new? Would anyone? Would she travel with him to meet his parents and share his diagnosis? Love does make us do crazy things. However, the initial part of their relationship did seem forced upon us.
Mia does live a disorganized life herself. She works in a corporate setting and knows the challenges of breaking through in that environment. After working long hours, Mia aimlessly scrolls through an online dating app, revolted by the messages she receives from people looking to hook up with her. Compared to what she observes in the online dating environment, Elliot seems like a catch. She decides to give him a chance. From there, it’s a whirlwind as Marks and Powers take us through the initial months of their relationship through clips of them engaging in passionate sexual intercourse interspersed between doctor visits, walks through the park, cooking meals together, and more. She is his caregiver during his chemotherapy treatments. There is certainly love and compassion between the two.
What After Everything does exceptionally well is examining the relationship once Elliot goes into remission. In addition to the daily struggles of maintaining a relationship once those initial feelings of euphoria wear off, Elliot questions whether he ever wanted to be in the relationship or if he only entered into one because he thought he was dying. The couple begins asking each other questions that they should have asked earlier. They should have learned more about one another before rushing into something neither was prepared for. This portion of the movie seems incredibly realistic. What we do in relationship strife exemplifies its strengths (or lack thereof). What happens to a fervent relationship once those feelings of stomach butterflies diminish and life gets in the way?
The problem with After Everything is that it wants to be more than it can be. It wants to be fun. It wants to be cute. It wants to show romantic passion. It wants to show an entire relationship from start to end. It wants to add dramatic elements (though I do appreciate it not trying to be overly sentimental in an attempt to evoke emotion) with Elliot’s cancer diagnosis and fight. It’s a lesser version of the underrated and underseen Love & Other Drugs, a film I felt After Everything drew from. It tried to do far too much in too little time.
Though flawed, After Everything is a worthwhile watch, held together by the dynamic performances of White and Monroe. They don’t quite have the natural chemistry that Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway had in Love & Other Drugs. Nevertheless, it’s two characters giving it their all despite a script stretched too thin. Marks and Power did a marvelous job of showing how a lack of communication can affect any relationship, regardless of its strength. It’s ironic how quickly communication breakdown can deter a relationship.
Plot 7.5/10
Character Development 8.5/10
Character Chemistry 8.5/10
Acting 8.75/10
Screenplay 8.25/10
Directing 8/10
Cinematography 8.25/10
Sound 7.5/10
Hook and Reel 8.5/10
Universal Relevance 9/10
80.75%
B-
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