From Page To Screen: After by Anna Todd + After Premiere Red Carpet
After is now out in theaters so I am excited to share with you my Page to Screen review. Be sure to scroll down for my coverage of the After red carpet. BE AWARE: THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS.
Summery: Tessa is a good girl with a sweet, reliable boyfriend back home. She’s got direction, ambition, and a mother who’s intent on keeping her that way.
But she’s barely moved into her freshman dorm when she runs into Hardin. With his tousled brown hair, cocky British accent, tattoos, and lip ring, Hardin is cute and different from what she’s used to.
But he’s also rude—to the point of cruelty, even. For all his attitude, Tessa should hate Hardin. And she does—until she finds herself alone with him in his room. Something about his dark mood grabs her, and when they kiss it ignites within her a passion she’s never known before.
He’ll call her beautiful, then insist he isn’t the one for her and disappear again and again. Despite the reckless way he treats her, Tessa is compelled to dig deeper and find the real Hardin beneath all his lies. He pushes her away again and again, yet every time she pushes back, he only pulls her in deeper.
Tessa already has the perfect boyfriend. So why is she trying so hard to overcome her own hurt pride and Hardin’s prejudice about nice girls like her?
Unless…could this be love?
Book Review: While not the most well written book I’ve ever read I really enjoyed After. One thing I appreciated was how Todd was able to keep me engaged in the story. I understand that when Anna initially wrote After on Wattpad she had to keep her readers engaged and coming back for each new installment but the back and forth nature of Tessa and Hardin’s relationship did get a little redundant after a while.
Knowing that it was originally a Harry Styles/One Direction fan fiction I was surprised at the more mature content.
I know the criticism After has received over the years and if you are to just go off the first book I would agree with some of it. While Tessa and Hardin’s relationship isn’t always healthy (even Tessa admits that) I think it’s important to take into account how their relationship develops and evolves as the series progresses.
Movie Review: Going into the film I didn’t really know what to expect.
The first half of the movie was very choppy and fast paced and they really sped through the beginning of Tessa and Hardin’s relationship. It wasn’t really until the lake scene that the film seemed to really find it’s pacing.
I thought Josephine Langford was great as Tessa. She and Hero had good really good chemistry onscreen. At the beginning of the film Hero came off as a bit monotone however I felt that his acting got better as the movie progressed.
Because so much of the focus of the film was on the relationship between Tessa and Hardin (obviously) the other characters didn’t get as much time on screen. I wish we had gotten to see more of Tessa and Landon’s friendship as well as Hardin’s relationship with his father.
Josephine Langford (Tessa) and Hero Fiennes-Tifin (Hardin)
Since we don’t know if we will be getting the rest of the books made into films I thought that they did a good job with the ending of the film. It ended on a positive not while also keeping the story open for future films.
Compare and Contrast: Going into the film I knew that there were going to be changes and that it was going to be different from the book. I just don’t think I was prepared for just how different the movie was going to be. that being said there were some changes that I actually didn’t mind. I got the sense that Anna and the film creators where very much aware of the criticism After has received over the years. Many of the changes made in the film seemed to be responding to some of the criticism of After: Hardin’s treatment of Tessa, Hardin and Tessa’s “toxic” relationship and the bet.
The softening of Hardin was a change that I wasn’t too upset about. However I do think they went a little to far and Hardin ended up losing a little bit of the edge that I really enjoyed in his character.
I know everyone was most excited for the lake scene, however, I found that scene to be one of the more slow scenes in the film. If I had to choose a favorite scene from the movie I would have to pick the scene where we are first introduced to Hardin.
Overview: While I wasn’t I expecting the film to be an exact replica of the book I was surprised at just how different the film was from the movie.
Because I started reading After once the filming had already began it is hard for me to imagine any other than Josephine and Hero as Tessa and Hardin. I thought Josephine was absolutely perfect as Tessa. I thought Hero was good as Hardin and I felt his acting got better as the film progressed.
Overall I really enjoyed the movie. I can only hope it does well at the box office so we get the rest of the series made into films.
Extra: OnMonday was they had the Los Angeles premiere of After at The Grove. I was lucky enough to get to cover the red carpet. You can check out all of my photos from the premiere below. [You can watch my vlog from the premiere here]
Josephine Langford (Tessa)
Josephine Langford (Tessa)
Josephine Langford (Tessa)
Josephine Langford (Tessa)
Josephine Langford (Tessa)
Hero Fiennes-Tiffin (Hardin)
Hero Fiennes-Tiffin (Hardin)
Hero Fiennes-Tiffin (Hardin)
author Anna Todd
author Anna Todd
author Anna Todd with her husband
Josephine Langford (Tessa) and author Anna Todd
Josephine Langford (Tessa), Hero Fiennes-Tiffin (Hardin) and author Anna Todd
Josephine Langford (Tessa), Hero Fiennes-Tiffin (Hardin) and author Anna Todd
Josephine Langford (Tessa), Hero Fiennes-Tiffin (Hardin) and author Anna Todd
Josephine Langford (Tessa) and Hero Fiennes-Tiffin (Hardin)
Josephine Langford (Tessa) and Hero Fiennes-Tiffin (Hardin)
Josephine Langford (Tessa) and Hero Fiennes-Tiffin (Hardin)
Josephine Langford (Tessa) and Hero Fiennes-Tiffin (Hardin)
Pia Mia (Tristan)
Pia Mia (Tristan)
Pia Mia (Tristan)
Pia Mia (Tristan)
Pia Mia (Tristan)
Samuel Larson (Zed)
Samuel Larson (Zed)
Samuel Larson (Zed) and Vanessa Dubasso
Samuel Larson (Zed) and Vanessa Dubasso
Inanna (Molly)
Inanna (Molly)
Inanna (Molly)
Inanna (Molly) and Matthew Noszka
Inanna (Molly) and Matthew Noszka
Khadijha Red Thunder (Steph)
Khadijha Red Thunder (Steph)
Khadijha Red Thunder (Steph)
Dyland Arnold (Noah)
Dylan Arnold (Noah)
Dylan Arnold (Noah) and Shane Paul McGhie (Landon)
Jennifer Beals (Karen)
Jennifer Beals (Karen)
Jennifer Beals (Karen)
Pia Mia (Tristan) and Josephine Langford (Tessa)
Pia Mia (Tristan) and Josephine Langford (Tessa)
Khadijha Red Thunder (Steph) and Pia Mia (Tristan)
Khadijha Red Thunder (Steph) and Pia Mia (Tristan)
Josephine Langford (Tessa), director Jenny Gage and Hero Fiennes-Tiffin (Hardin)
The After cast with director Jenny Gage and author Anna Todd
Swen Temmel (Jace) and Meadow Williams (Professor Soto)
Swen Temmel (Jace) and Meadow Williams (Professor Soto)
Swen Tempel (Jace) and Meadow Williams (Professor Soto)
Book You Very Much 