After We Fell
Starring: Josephine Langford and Hero Fiennes Tiffin
After We Fell is the third installment in the After series. I have not read the books so my review is purely based on the film though I am curious to read them after watching the films to do a fair comparison of the flow of the story. First I want to say that I do love the series; guy from the wrong side of the tracks meets a good girl and fall in love if you want it in a nutshell. This third installment has opened my eyes to my slight problem all along; the flow of the actual storyline; allow me to explain.
When we first meet Tessa and Hardin in After, they have just begun to know each other and give in to the spark between them. We see Hardin begin to let down his guard, admitting to himself and Tessa, his true feelings. His bad boy image is beginning to shed like a snake's old skin as he strives to be a better person while battling his demons which he does quite often though Tessa makes him feel like somebody. He doesn't feel alone anymore. However Molly feels the need to destroy what they have because of her insane jealous ways and needs to be the center of attention. When we depart from this story, Hardin has written a paper about Tessa, explaining his growth through his love for her, apologizing to her for the stupid thing he had done that caused her to leave him.
At the beginning of After We Collided, we find it was a mere month later since we last saw our favorite flawed couple only to find, there was no happy ending like the end of the first film displayed. At this point in time, we are assuming it is during a break from the last semester as it seemed it was a final that the paper was written for thus Tessa is still a freshman and Hardin...well we're not sure what year he is in. We do find Hardin living out of his car (or so it seems that way at the beginning of the film) and Tessa is now a paid intern at Vance Publishing (first day of course). We are introduced to Trevor who is fair competition for Hardin and we find that there is no actual competition because Tessa allows Hardin back in quite quickly. By the way, has anyone wondered how Hardin has a tracker on Tessa's phone if they broke up so abruptly from the first film; not to mention that Hardin should have a tracker since he is the one that disappears for a time? Just thought I would point that out. Anyway, we meet Hardin's mom, find out a bit more about his past and we also get introduced briefly to Tessa's dad who suddenly appears in the picture. I was also quite disturbed by the relationship between Noah (Tessa's ex) and her mother Carol because, let's face it, they seem a bit too close since the first film. Moving on because we only see them for a millisecond in the film, essentially, Hardin "fights" for Tessa and we got our resolved ending again.
Bringing us to the focus of this review, After We Fell which Tessa's dad is staying with Tessa and Hardin, (who's apartment magically grew larger with each film) because he is a recovering alcoholic. We find this out because he goes on a chummy drink outing with Hardin finding that "you fall for someone like your dad" is a true statement for Tessa though Hardin does prove to be better for Tessa. There is an argument about Tessa going to Seattle and Hardin wanting to move back to London after graduation (which is one of the few indications that we get about what year in college Hardin is in). According to the flow of this film, it seems years have passed but toward the end of the film, it seems only another month or so have passed. The timeline is confusing and by the time we find out the shocking secret connected to Hardin, it makes you think, "WTF?" How is this possible? You're left with a trail of questions like: Where's Trevor? Does Hardin's dad know he's not Hardin's dad? Where do they go from here?
It also puts Hardin's mom in the enemy number one spot. My other complaint is that the trailer for the third movie is very misleading. Just when we think we're going to find out more about Tessa's past, it's more of a flop. Tessa is the good girl we met in the beginning and Hardin is still learning and working on being the man she deserves. How long do we have to wait for the 4th and final installment? I am eager to find out especially what kind of magical apartment they will get in Seattle or will Tessa leave Vance publishing because of recent developments? We shall see! Let me know what you think of the trilogy in the comments below. I'm intrigued to see what others feel about the flow of the storyline and the broken bits in between. Perhaps the 4th installment will present some clarity.
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