In terms of performance, Josephine Langford did not stand out, which is concerning considering she is one of the two main leads. Once again, this is a testament to the writing. Her character feels flat and has almost no personality. The emotional scenes are when she truly stands out and shows her capabilities as an actor. She delivers when needed but feels very idle and static for most of the movie. 

Hero Fiennes Tiffin’s performance was also lacking and not the best in general. Every line felt forced and disingenuous. His portrayal of Hardin felt comical instead of threatening or intimidating. The directions he was given on-screen did not help his case, which resulted in many of his emotional and intense scenes coming off as uncomfortable or just plain funny. It was difficult to get into the scene, and the emotions of the characters did not translate well.  

One enjoyable performance in After Ever Happy was that of Lousie Lombard, who played Trish Daniels, Hardin’s mother. She brought a strong presence and emotional depth to the role, making her character one of the highlights of the movie. Her monologue toward the end of the movie really stood out and was one of the best parts in terms of writing and acting. She captured the essence of her character and the character’s past mistakes incredibly well. The movie should have focused more on the mother-son relationship in order to bring these characters to life, but the little bit that was given was endearing to watch. 

Visuals and Sound

The movie’s aesthetic, much like everything else discussed, was lackluster. Throughout the story, there are three separate locations, but nothing is done to distinguish them from each other. One couldn’t tell whether you were in England, Washington, or New York. It was slightly disorienting not to be able to see the difference. Adding visual differences would have made the movie more interesting to watch on screen. Various color-grading could have been used to add some more color to the locations, but instead, the movie consistently looks as though it lacks color except during the intimate scenes that feature a lot of light, which ends up being counteractive and ruining the atmosphere. Similarly to the locations and coloring, the music does not add much to the scenes and ends up fading into the background without any emotional impact. There were no standout songs. 

The overall cinematography was very bland and could have used some experimentation, even though that was not the intention of the film. The filming came off as very lazy through extreme close-ups, basic shots, and reverse shots. The lack of variation between shots becomes very evident after thirty minutes into the film. It’s very overdone and becomes repetitive, much like the plot of Tessa and Hardin fighting constantly. This was expected from a fanfiction adaptation, but it could have separated itself from the many by trying something new instead of taking the easy way out. 

Finally

After Ever Happy followed the same path as its three predecessors and failed to offer any unique or innovative elements to the story. The plot ultimately went nowhere, and many moments were simply used to push the couple to talk to each other. The writing and, consequently, the acting were mediocre at best, and the movie did not stand out. It would be fun to watch it with a group of friends simply to watch the absurdity unfold, but other than that, there is no true entertainment value. The movie could’ve been interesting and provided important commentary on trauma and relationships, but the previous movies have established the franchise as shallow and lacking any artistic direction. 

 After Ever Happy is streaming on Netflix and Prime now.