Paul Mescal's best performance is leaving Netflix soon — stream it while you can

Paul Mescal as Calum Paterson and Frankie Corio as Sophie Paterson in Aftersun (A24)
(Image credit: A24)

Paul Mescal has steadily risen through the ranks to become one of the industry's most acclaimed and in-demand actors for his work on acclaimed series like Hulu's "Normal People," high-profile theater gigs like his Olivier-winning turn as Stanley Kowalski in "A Streetcar Named Desire", and lead roles in big blockbuster films like "Gladiator 2."

And while the 29-year-old Irishman has plenty of upcoming projects padding out his CV — including Richard Linklater's take on "Merrily We Roll Along," playing William Shakespeare in Chloé Zhao's "Hamnet" and doing his best Paul McCartney impersonation in Sam Mendes' upcoming Beatles biopic series — it's one of the actor's previous roles that we're excited to watch next.

The 2022 coming-of-age drama "Aftersun" features Mescal's most heartbreaking performance to date as a young father struggling with mental illness while trying to enjoy a vacation with his pre-teen daughter. Here's why you should add "Aftersun" to your next watchlist before the title leaves the Netflix library on Friday, March 21.

What is 'Aftersun' about?

Aftersun | Official Trailer HD | A24 - YouTube Aftersun | Official Trailer HD | A24 - YouTube
Watch On

Written and directed by Charlotte Wells — in what is, extraordinarily, her feature directorial debut, given the visual confidence and emotional intelligence of the film — "Aftersun" is loosely based on the filmmaker's own childhood experiences.

The late '90s-set memory film follows Scottish 11-year-old Sophie Patterson (a breakout Frankie Corio) during a one-on-one vacation at a Turkish resort with her 30-year-old father Calum (Mescal), who, though now separated from Sophie's mother, maintains a good relationship with both mom and daughter.

Despite the sun and fun of the setting — not to mention Sophie's sweetly awkward entry in adolescent rites of passage, like first kisses — Calum clearly struggles with deep depression and anxiety, an emotional anguish that he tries and fails to hide from his precocious daughter for the sake of their trip.

To heartrending effect, Wells toggles between the resort holiday and scenes of adult Sophie, twenty years later, reminiscing about the father she never fully knew.

Why should you watch 'Aftersun' on Netflix?

Frankie Corio and Paul Mescal in Aftersun

(Image credit: A24)

Though a relatively small movie — the A24 indie grossed a total of $8.59 million worldwide — "Aftersun" had a big impact on both audiences and critics alike.

The film has an impressive 95% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 244 reviews, with the site's critics' consensus reading: "Led by Frankie Corio's tremendous performance, 'Aftersun' deftly ushers audiences to the intersection between our memories of loved ones and who they really are."

And The New York Times critic A.O. Scott cited Wells' work as "astonishing and devastating", writing that the director was "very nearly reinventing the language of film, unlocking the medium's often dormant potential to disclose inner worlds of consciousness and feeling."

Mescal's stunning performance as Calum also got major love — the star received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for the film, as well as similar nods at the BAFTAs, Critics' Choice Awards, Independent Spirit Awards and the Irish Film & Television Awards.

Watch "Aftersun" on Netflix now

More on Tom's Guide

Christina Izzo
Writer

Christina Izzo is a writer-editor covering culture, food and drink, travel and general lifestyle in New York City. She was previously the Deputy Editor at My Imperfect Life, the Features Editor at Rachael Ray In Season and Reveal, as well as the Food & Drink Editor and chief restaurant critic at Time Out New York. 

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.

Read more
Cillian Murphy as Bill Furlong in "Small Things Like These"
Forget ‘Oppenheimer’ — Cillian Murphy gives his best performance ever in this drama movie with 93% on Rotten Tomatoes
Timothée Chalamet in Call Me By Your Name
Timothée Chalamet's Oscar-nominated breakout role is leaving Netflix next week — here's where you can stream it
Kieran Culkin as Benjamin "Benji" Kaplan in "A Real Pain"
Hulu just got my favorite movie of the past 12 months — and it's 96% on Rotten Tomatoes
Saoirse Ronan in Brooklyn
Saoirse Ronan’s best performance is leaving Max soon — don’t miss out on ‘Brooklyn’
(L-R) Taylor Russell as Maren Yearly and Timothée Chalamet as Lee in "Bones and All"
Prime Video is about to lose this seriously dark thriller movie — and it's one of Timothée Chalamet's best movies
Mia McKenna-Bruce as Tara in "How to Have Sex" now streaming on Netflix
Netflix just added one of the most impactful drama movies I've ever watched — and it's 97% on Rotten Tomatoes
Latest in Streaming
Jeffery Dean Morgan as Negan and Lauren Cohan as Maggie in "The Walking Dead: Dead City" season 1
Netflix finally got one of the best ‘Walking Dead’ spinoffs — and now’s the perfect time to binge it
Simone Ashley and Hero Fiennes Tiffin in "Picture This" now streaming on Prime Video
Prime Video top 10 has 3 must-watch movies — including a bubbly romcom starring 'Bridgerton's' Simone Ashley
(L-R) Josh Hartnett as Cooper and Ariel Donoghue as Riley in "Trap"
Netflix top 10 movies — here’s the 3 worth watching right now
(From L to R) Rohan (Nik Dodani), Josh (Brandon Flynn), Dorothy (Edie Falco), John (Dean Norris), and Liddie (Lisa Kuthrow) in The Parenting
Max top 10 movies — here’s the 3 worth watching right now
Kelly Reilly as Beth Dutton and Cole Hauser as Rip Wheeler sit in the grass on Yellowstone season 5
'Yellowstone' series finale now available on Peacock — here's how to stream it now
The Residence; Severance; Good American Family
5 top new TV shows to stream this week on Netflix, Hulu and more (March 17-23)
Latest in News
Mac Studio on desk plugged into Studio Display
Apple reportedly working on two new Studio Display monitors — here's what I want to see
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 on a green and black patterned background
RTX 5090 price continues to rise — prepare to spend around $3,000 for Nvidia's GPU
iPhone 17 Air render
iPhone 17 Air could lead to portless iPhones and thinner Apple products — if it sells well
Elipson Planet L
These planetoid speakers make me feel like I’m living in The Jetsons
iPhone Flip Concept
iPhone Flip and Foldable iPad could finally go into mass production next year — what we know
Google Pixel 9a render
Google Pixel 9a benchmarks leaked — and the scores are underwhelming