After 4 Review: Ever Happy – Books VS Film

Last September 28 it finally came out After 4 are Prime Video. The film, based on the successful series of books by the queen of the New Adult, Anna Todd, was definitely one of the most anticipated of the year by the target audience.

So today, we of Movie Blog we want to talk about it with you, trying to put the focus on the distinction between books and films, which is why many readers have complained loudly.

After 4: Ever Happy – Trama

Hardin (Hero Finn’s Tiffin) and Tessa (Josephine Langford) they have always loved each other and as always, even if the time spent together is only six months. Six months of love, quarrels, tears, suffering and profound torment which, however, do nothing but make the two souls known more and more, making them appreciate the defects of the other as if in reality they had known each other for a lifetime. The most complicated chapter for our Tessa, in which she becomes aware of the limits that this story brings, of the demons that have now entered her heart to free that of Hardin, leading to an exchange of roles always defined by Anna Todd. Tessa is Hardin and Hardin is Tessa.

Books vs Movies: Knowing how to read a story

We made it! After 3 films we finally have one consistent with the book, as far as it was possible given the absence of great characters, which we will then see in depth. Many Haters have defined After as the classic teenage story with no value to the viewer. Normal, considering the important absences that made the film a simple push and pull between the protagonists.

“A plot still better than After”

“A love story anyway more convincing than Hardin and Tess’s?

How not to mention the ironic phrases protagonists of each social network, with the photo of a random meme?

Sorry ladies and gentlemen, but if you haven’t read the books such phrases are totally out of place. We assume that we are not dealing with a Teen story, rather a New Adult written by her queen, much less the themes we see in the wrong part of the “booktok”. We have a story that will only be understood by those who manage to immerse themselves in the hearts of both characters.

Books vs Movies: The noise of absence

In order not to go too far, we will explain in two short points how silence can make a deafening noise. These two points have a specific name:

• Steph: The roommate Tessa meets on her first day of college, presented in the first film as a willing, lively and unconventional girl. All correct also because Steph really seems to want to be friends with the protagonist, at least unlike Molly of her, deeply resentful towards Tessa because of her feelings towards Hardin. Too bad that slowly, as the story progresses, Steph turns out to be an unrivaled viper deeply envious of Tessa, to the point of trying to have her raped by her gang of friends with a lot of recording to send to Hardin. Thanks to Molly, however, always considered a witch girl all makeup and no soul, Tessa manages to save herself from the situation that would have marked her life. The absence of the REAL Steph actually takes away an important part of the drama, of the growth and awareness of the characters, making the film the teenage story of which the novice haters speaks.

• Zed: The common thread of the story, reduced to 4 bars in the cross in 4 films. A member of the gang that revolves around Hardin, Zed is taken by Tessa since their first meeting, inexorably leading him to constant confrontation with Hardin to win the heart of the girl whose, after trying to take part in the bet reluctantly won by Hardin, slowly falls in love (obviously in his own way). Zed is not the reveler that the film has served us up, but a young man marked by a lack of self-esteem, in constant need to feel superior due to personal shortcomings who therefore puts himself in front of everything, willing to do anything to win something. , but that would save Tessa (to look better than Hardin in his eyes, for nothing else) anyway. The problem is not the Zed storyline itself that would bring moral or value to the film; the problem is that Zed is one of the main engines that pull the protagonists’ demons.

To say that Hardin’s story is practically non-existent in any film is kindness. Reduced to some flashbacks of his childhood, which does not make us understand anything. The monsters he has had to face are far from what the film has in store for us. Fortunately, the fourth film was able to transpose a scene with absolute coherence, at the moment of the fire, even if it is not enough.

After 4: Review

We will say to conclude that the film was a good product, an end in itself, which actually achieves its goal, despite the tragic and continuous change of cast, impossible in this case not to be noticed. We are not facing the pilot of any TV series, we are facing 6 changes of main characters in 3 films. A little too much isn’t it? This is partly due to the pandemic that made some actors unavailable to shoot in Eastern Europe (Bulgaria), the location chosen for the pandemic curve on a delayed basis compared to the location of the first two. Secondly Candice King (Accolla) got pregnant during filming, leading to the choice of Arielle Kebbel for the role of Kimberly Vance while other actors like Chance Perdomo (Landon Gibson) they failed to find an agreement with the production to travel to Bulgaria. All in all, we can say that the After films are a good product, because not everyone has a common thread in the midst of all this confusion, let’s face it frankly. Furthermore, a film of this kind has only one goal: to make the viewer fall in love with love and characters, and After has succeeded.

After 5: will it be there?

We were all convinced that the 5 film was not going to be made, then we realized it was in production jumping for joy. We were then disappointed when we realized what the fifth film was really about. Finally, after watching the fourth, we jumped again for joy at the surprise made by the authors. Hardin and Tessa’s story continues, at least in part, in a 5 film, already produced. It remains only to understand the release date, but making a small prediction we expect it for next summer.