---
title: "After Love"
year: 2021
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/after-love"
fi1m_id: "after-love"
imdb_id: "tt10692788"
tmdb_id: 714011
wikidata_id: "Q109313048"
fi1m_score: 83
critics_score: 77
critics_reviews: 13
published: "2026-10-03T01:53:41.672623+00:00"
updated: "2026-10-03T01:53:41.963547+00:00"
region: "IL"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# After Love (2021)

Directed by Aleem Khan · 1h 29m · Drama

## Identity

After Love

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/after-love
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** after-love
- **IMDb ID:** tt10692788
- **TMDB ID:** 714011
- **Wikidata ID:** Q109313048
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10692788/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/714011, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q109313048

**Fi1m score: 83** · Critics 77 from 13 reviews

*In a sentence:* Joanna Scanlan makes us feel we should apologise, though we are fairly sure this marriage is nothing to do with us

> Joanna Scanlan makes *After Love* a moving, uncomfortable account of grief complicated by betrayal. Aleem Khan’s drama is worth an evening, with one reservation: the writing sometimes makes the hurt too tidy.

## Synopsis

Mary / Fahima (Joanna Scanlan) is grieving her husband when she begins to uncover his secret life. Her search brings the humiliation of betrayal into a period already shaped by loss. She wants to understand what has been kept from her, but each discovery complicates the marriage she thought she knew. Genevieve (Nathalie Richard), Ahmed (Nasser Memarzia) and Solomon (Talid Ariss) are the other figures in a story of grief and concealed relationships. Mary’s attention turns towards what she did not know about her husband, while her feelings for him become harder to separate from the hurt.

## Review

*After Love* is a moving drama with a performance worth making time for. Writer-director Aleem Khan takes a widow’s discovery of her husband’s secret life and allows the humiliation to matter as much as the bereavement. Mary / Fahima, played by Joanna Scanlan, has lost someone and must now question what she knew about him. That is a strong premise for melodrama, and Khan’s patience with her makes it more troubling than a simple story of deception.

Scanlan gives Mary’s hurt a physical awkwardness that makes it difficult to watch comfortably. We were moved by the humiliation she conveys: the discovery asks Mary to reconsider a marriage while she is still grieving the man she married. Scanlan makes the effort of coping apparent without making every feeling immediately readable, and that uncertainty keeps us watching her closely. The performance lets grief, anger and embarrassment exist together; Mary need not choose one emotion so that we can keep up.

Alexander Dynan’s cinematography and Gareth C. Scales’s editing are best judged by the attention they allow us to pay to Scanlan. We have time to register Mary’s discomfort without feeling that each moment has been underlined for our benefit. At 89 minutes, the film feels patient, although its economy can also make the changes in feeling seem a little too neatly arranged. The editing is strongest in maintaining that watchfulness while the discovery of the secret life supplies the suspense.

Chris Roe’s music and Sarah Jenneson’s production design are secondary pleasures here, and we mean that as a compliment. Neither is what stays with us when we think about Mary’s distress. In a drama whose premise could invite a good deal of insistence, the balance feels right: Scanlan is given room to carry the emotional weight. We value the film’s restraint, even when Khan’s handling of the story becomes less assured.

Nathalie Richard as Genevieve and Talid Ariss as Solomon give the drama weight beyond its central performance. Khan needs us to remain interested in people whose lives cannot be explained solely by what Mary is feeling, and the ensemble helps him do that. Richard, in particular, prevents our sympathy for Scanlan from deciding everything in advance. There is room for discomfort here that a less considered treatment of betrayal might have hurried us through.

Our reservation is that Khan occasionally seems too eager to put the feelings in order. The story’s tidier passages make the relationships easier to grasp, but they also reduce some of the difficulty that Scanlan has been so good at preserving. We do not need every hurt to become understandable in quite so manageable a form. It is a modest complaint, though an important one in a film that asks us to take such intimate unhappiness seriously.

Against the familiar pleasures of a secret-life drama, *After Love* offers less satisfaction in judging the absent husband than in spending time with the woman left behind. Its suspense comes from how much Mary can bear to learn, and Scanlan makes that question worth following without announcing its importance. The film is strongest when it lets us sit with her embarrassment for longer than feels polite. Choose it for a quiet evening, provided quiet does not mean comfortable.

*Fi1m score 83, published 3 October 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics respond warmly to After Love, with praise concentrated on Joanna Scanlan’s performance as a grieving widow confronting her husband’s secret life. The reviews repeatedly single out her physical expressiveness, restraint and ability to convey humiliation without overstating it. They also value the film’s sensitive treatment of grief and betrayal, finding emotional complexity in a premise that could lend itself to soap opera. Several see its measured approach as a strength.

Reservations concern execution rather than the central performance. The Hollywood Reporter finds the ending a little too tidy, while the Evening Standard notes a few clumsy moments alongside its praise for the ensemble. Enthusiasm ranges from strong approval to more qualified appreciation, but there are no negative verdicts in the tally. Even the more moderate assessments admire Scanlan, making her work the clearest point of agreement across the reviews.

## Straight answers

**Is After Love worth watching?**

*After Love* is worth watching for Joanna Scanlan’s moving performance in a quiet, uncomfortable drama about grief and betrayal; we score it 83 out of 100. We recommend it for an evening of close attention to difficult feelings, with one reservation: the writing sometimes makes those feelings tidier than Scanlan’s performance suggests they should be.

**How long is After Love, and what is it rated?**

*After Love* runs 1h 29m. It is a drama film.

**Where can I watch After Love in Israel?**

*After Love* is not on any streaming or rental service in Israel at the moment. It is available in 7 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily.

**How violent or frightening is After Love, and is it suitable for children?**

*After Love* has a UK 12A certificate, and its grief, betrayal and emotional discomfort make it better suited to teenagers and adults than younger children. We find the widow’s humiliation difficult to watch, but that describes its emotional force rather than violence or scares. The certificate alone does not establish how much of either it contains.

**How does After Love compare to 45 Years?**

*After Love* and [*45 Years*](https://film.one/film/45-years) both examine relationships unsettled by concealed history, and we recommend both for their performances despite writing that sometimes explains too much. *After Love* is the better choice for a close study of grief complicated by betrayal through Joanna Scanlan; *45 Years* suits an evening focused on a marriage, carried by Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay’s smallest reactions.

**What should I watch after After Love?**

After *After Love*, try [*45 Years*](https://film.one/film/45-years) (2015, Fi1m 88): For another marriage unsettled by a past that refuses to stay settled. Then [*A Separation*](https://film.one/film/a-separation) (2011, Fi1m 93): For divided sympathies and family arguments where nobody gets an easy acquittal; and [*The Lunchbox*](https://film.one/film/the-lunchbox) (2013, Fi1m 75): For loneliness and tentative connection handled with patience and attention to ordinary lives.

### Reviews we read (13)

- **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (90/100, inferred): Bradshaw calls the film an outstanding drama, driven by Joanna Scanlan’s superb lead performance. He particularly praises how Scanlan conveys Mary’s humiliation and the suspense of her uncovering her husband’s secret life. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/jun/03/after-love-review-a-lacerating-portrait-of-a-life-built-on-marital-lies)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Leslie Felperin (90/100, inferred): Felperin praises the film as a transcendent, emotionally satisfying drama, though its ending is a little too tidy. She especially singles out Joanna Scanlan’s physically expressive performance as a grieving widow. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/after-love-film-review-british-actor-joanna-scanlan-shines-as-a-grieving-widow-1235313632/)
- **Empire**, Ian Freer (86/100, inferred): The review calls the film a measured, powerful and thoughtful work. It singles out Joanna Scanlan’s nuanced, mesmerizing performance as its greatest strength. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/after-love-2021/)
- **IndieWire**, Christian Zilko (B+): The critic finds the film an imperfect but beautiful exploration of grief and complicated relationships. Joanna Scanlan’s nuanced performance is singled out as a career-defining strength. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/after-love-review-joanna-scanlan-1234801187/)
- **Evening Standard**, Charlotte O'Sullivan (4/5): O’Sullivan finds the film a beautiful, inventive exploration of love and grief, despite a few clumsy moments. She particularly praises Joanna Scanlan’s subtle, stunning performance and the strength of the ensemble acting. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/after-love-film-review-brilliant-debut-feature-joanna-scanlan-aleem-khan-b938386.html)
- **Little White Lies**, Leila Latif (4/4/4): The review praises the film as a nuanced, emotionally intelligent character study. It singles out Joanna Scanlan’s extraordinary, naturalistic performance of grief and betrayal. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/after-love-aleem-khan)
- **Sight and Sound**, BFI (78/100, inferred): The review finds the film weightier than its soap-opera setup and ultimately moving. It particularly praises Joanna Scanlan’s sophisticated, compelling performance as a grieving and betrayed widow. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/after-love-grieves-house-divided-english-channel-aleem-khan-joanna-scanlan)
- **Variety**, Guy Lodge (78/100, inferred): Lodge finds the debut thoughtful and emotionally compelling, with cultural tensions handled elegantly. He especially praises Joanna Scanlan’s nuanced, quietly powerful performance. [Read](https://variety.com/2022/film/reviews/after-love-review-1235203439/)
- **Screen Daily**, Wendy Ide (70/100, inferred): The review is positive about Aleem Khan’s pensive debut. It singles out Joanna Scanlan’s powerhouse performance for praise. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/after-love-london-review/5154063.article)
- **The New York Times** (64/100, inferred): The page could not be read, so the critic’s verdict cannot be verified. No specific praise or complaint can be reliably identified from the available text. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/19/movies/after-love-review.html)
- **Radio Times**, David Parkinson (3/5): Parkinson calls the film a sensitive, considered debut feature. He especially praises Joanna Scanlan’s heartbreakingly excellent performance as Mary. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-543s9s/after-love/)
- **/Film**, Jeremy Mathai (8/10): Mathai calls the film a quietly devastating, ultimately heartwarming meditation on belonging. He singles out Joanna Scanlan’s intensely vulnerable performance as the emotional anchor of the story. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/1173163/after-love-review-a-quietly-devastating-slow-burn-on-what-it-really-means-to-belong/)
- **The Skinny**, Josh Slater-Williams (★★★): The review finds the film a gripping showcase for Joanna Scanlan’s dramatic talent. It especially praises her emotionally intelligent central performance, which anchors the film’s balance of naturalism and melodrama. [Read](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/after-love-2021)

## Details

- **Director:** Aleem Khan
- **Director:** Aleem Khan
- **Writer:** Aleem Khan
- **Cinematography:** Alexander Dynan
- **Editor:** Gareth C. Scales
- **Music:** Chris Roe
- **Production design:** Sarah Jenneson
- **Costume design:** Nirage Mirage
- **Producer:** Matthieu de Braconier
- **Cast:** Joanna Scanlan as Mary / Fahima; Nathalie Richard as Genevieve; Nasser Memarzia as Ahmed; Talid Ariss as Solomon; Sudha Bhuchar as Farzanna; Nisha Chadha as Mina; Jabeen Butt as Saadia; Subika Anwar-Khan as Salma
- **Runtime:** 1h 29m
- **First release (Canada):** 11 September 2020
- **Genres:** Drama
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUVHzMgbW4I

## Where to watch in Israel

Not streaming, renting or buying in Israel at the last check.

Also available in: AU, FR, GB, IE, IT, NZ, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *45 Years* (2015), Fi1m 88: For another marriage unsettled by a past that refuses to stay settled. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/45-years.md)
- *A Separation* (2011), Fi1m 93: For divided sympathies and family arguments where nobody gets an easy acquittal. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/a-separation.md)
- *The Lunchbox* (2013), Fi1m 75: For loneliness and tentative connection handled with patience and attention to ordinary lives. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-lunchbox.md)
- *All That Heaven Allows* (1955), Fi1m 86: For an older woman’s desires treated seriously despite everyone else’s confident objections. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/all-that-heaven-allows.md)
- *Late Spring* (1949), Fi1m 92: For family obligations and feelings made legible without anyone explaining them at length. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/late-spring.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/after-love