wet weekend escapism in The Aftermath

A Ridley Scott period drama set in Germany seemed like a cathartic wet weekend escape. Emotional scenes at opposite platforms of Hamburg's main station, several months apart begin and close this dramatic film. In 1946, Rachael Morgan (Keira Knightley) arrived to the snow-covered ruins of Hamburg to be reunited with her British General husband Lewis (Jason Clarke). While he was duty bound to rebuild the occupied city, she was grieving her son, recently killed in a London bombing raid. Despite a well manicured retro wardrobe, Keira's girlish pouting reinforced naïve ignorance while emphasising her romantic and unrealistic expectations of 'dedicated' time with her almost estranged husband. Lewis moved Rachel into a mansion on the North Sea that was recently confiscated by the British government from its former tenants, Stephen Lubert (Alexander Skarsgård) and his teenage daughter, Freda (Flora Thiemann). While Lewis cannot show compassion for his lost son, he does allow Stephan and Freda to live upstairs in their own house, rather than sending them to the POW camps. When we realise that Stephan has just lost his wife in the final bombing raid on Hamburg, the scene is set for the inevitable drama triangle. The plot builds on the precarious living arrangement between strangers and former enemies connected by their respective losses and unresolved grief. The quick escalation to the ultimate betrayal is somewhat forced, but the later twists are not as predictable and prompt thoughtful reflection. This film portrays a challenging historical epoch that has not been addressed in many films; the painful process of establishing peace between recent enemies amidst the daily devastation. Behind this, there is also the cultural 'hatred' between the triumphant British occupiers and the German who were losing their homeland. The young and naïve British army were bumbling and arrogant in their attempts to wipe out Nazi sympathisers while occupying homes of previously successful and educated Germans. The process of building peace was not well explored given that the German younger generations are still coming to terms with the complexity of their grandparents' lives. Neither Nazism or resistance was simply good or bad, and most individuals were living with complex personal and political losses.