Drama
France,United Kingdom
After Love is a British drama film directed by Aleem Khan and starring Joanna Scanlan as Mary Hussain, a middle-aged widow who discovers a secret about her late husband after his death. The film explores themes of grief, love, family, and cultural identity as Mary navigates her new life without her husband and with the revelation of his secret.
Mary is a British Muslim of Pakistani origin who has been married to her husband for decades. Together they run a small corner shop in Dover. After her husband's sudden death, Mary is left to pick up the pieces of her life and take care of their two adult sons. However, her grief is compounded when she discovers that her husband had a second wife in Calais, just 21 miles across the English Channel.
Mary travels to Calais to confront the other woman and find answers about her husband's secret life. There, she meets Genevieve, a white French woman, who is also dealing with her own grief. Genevieve helps Mary navigate the unfamiliar territory of Calais and the local customs while dealing with her own feelings of loss and loneliness.
As Mary delves deeper into her husband's secret life, she learns more about herself and her own choices. The film explores the complexities of marriage, family, and cultural traditions in a contemporary world. The story is told with sensitivity and nuance, as Mary grapples with her own identities as a British Muslim and a woman in the face of her husband's deception.
Overall, After Love is a poignant and thought-provoking film that explores universal themes of love, loss, and identity through the lens of a specific community.
