Set in 1945 just after WWII, The Aftermath centers on a love triangle involving a stiff-upper-lip English couple and an anguished German architect whose palatial home on the banks of the Elbe River has been requisitioned by the British Army. Conscientious Colonel Lewis Morgan (Jason Clarke), who plays an integral part in bombed-out Hamburg’s postwar rebuilding effort, is eagerly awaiting the arrival of his wife, Rachael (Keira Knightley), from England during a bitterly cold winter. But Rachael is stunned to discover that her altruistic husband has refused to evict the previous owner, courteous German widower Stefan Lubert (Alexander Skarsgård) and his troubled teenage daughter, Freda (Flora Thiemann), allowing them to take up residence in the attic. Since the death of their 11-year-old son in the London Blitz, Rachael has loathed all Germans, so there is a great deal of unspoken tension between her and silent, stoic Lewis, whose complex assignment involves “de-Nazification,” determining which Germans were Nazi sympathizers and which were not. Inevitably, given her uptight husband’s long absences and Stefan’s compassionate nature, the vulnerable, isolated Rachael turns to Stefan for companionship and comfort. Adapting Rhidian Brook’s 2013 bestselling novel, director James Kent has simplified or eliminated many of the secondary characters who enriched the story and also watered down the dialogue. A stiff and soapy tale that benefits from German cinematographer Franz Lustig’s atmospheric details but other otherwise squanders so much potential, this is an optional purchase. (S. Granger)
The Aftermath
Fox, 108 min., R, DVD: $29.99, Blu-ray/DVD Combo: $34.99, June 25
The Aftermath
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