Castille London Interview: After We Fell

After We Fell, the third film in the hit After franchise will become widely available through Digital and On Demand starting October 19. After a book series and two previous films, fans know they are in for an intense round of relationship drama for Tessa (Josephine Langford, Moxie) and Hardin (Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Safe). The big difference in this outing, however, is that the problems they are dealing with come from outside of themselves as they prepare to face their future and reconcile their past.

Tessa travels to Seattle with Vance Publishing, a career opportunity that would have her over the moon if it didn’t spark Hardin’s more unpredictable side. He, meanwhile, is working hard at becoming a better version of himself even as the reappearance of Tessa’s father and the impending marriage of Hardin’s mother bring up old wounds for both of them. When the dust settles, will they be strong enough to face a new day together?

Director Castille London is a newcomer to the film franchise, but an avid reader of the book series. She spoke to Screen Rant about the important moments between the protagonists that needed to make the transition from page to screen, and how her own experiences influenced her interpretation of the material.

Screen Rant: When I spoke to Josephine Langford, she mentioned that you reading the books was one of the things that you brought to the table as a director. Was there any aspect or tone that you wanted to ensure the film had from your own experience with the books?

Castille London: It’s so funny because it seems like a no-brainer – obviously, you’re gonna read the books.

But when I read it, it just felt so much like something I’ve been through personally that I identified, for better or for worse, with Tessa so much. I felt like bringing that kind of gravity of what you feel in a relationship and how you’re perceiving things – whether it’s right or wrong, it’s the point of view that you have – and that sense of anxiety that you have when you’re in a relationship with someone who is all over the place emotionally.

I think coming at it from a deeply personal place is how I approached things, as opposed to from a humorous place. Which I think sets it apart quite a bit.

We get more family dynamics in this film, and we get to open a few more doors to their personal lives outside of each other. What would you say that did for their characters and relationship?

Castille London: I think that it forces them to operate as a unit, as opposed to them creating all of their own drama amongst themselves. Now they have to face the outside world, which I think helps make the film and the characters more mature. It’s not just then fighting amongst themselves; these are real stakes and real events that are coming at them. How are they going to react as a unit to that? And will they be able to remain a unit?

I also love that we got to see more of Tessa with her work and exploring her future career. What does Seattle mean to her?

Castille London: We all do that, right? Where we have these ideas in our head, and Seattle is this paragon of freedom and adulthood for her. She holds it up as that, but in number four [the fourth film, After Ever Happy] she goes to New York, and she’s still finding herself. So, we know that it’s not about where you go, it’s who you are when you go there.

Fans always want a very faithful adaptation. As someone who has read the books, was there anything you wanted to make sure stayed or any scene that you’re proudest of in terms of the translation to screen?

Castille London: To me, all of it was really important – and the reality is you can’t keep all of it. I think honing in on the important moments for Tessa and Hardin are what is in there, so a lot of the peripheral characters are cut out or maybe minimized.

Sometimes that’s unfortunate because I would love to see a whole movie with Chance [Perdomo] playing Landon; he’s fabulous. And Vance [Stephen Moyer] and Kimberly [Arielle Kebbel]; there’s all these characters that I would love to see much more of, and unfortunately they kind of get down-shifted within this franchise, because what is most important always is that Hessa relationship.

But you’ve seen the movie, so you’ve seen that we keep a lot of the important scenes. I think getting rid of the love triangle aspect of it was important too.

I did think it was great that there’s never a sense that she’s gonna stray, whereas, in the book, it seems more possible.

Castille London: But the fans didn’t like that, which was counterintuitive. But we really do like to take into account how fans [feel], and the fans want to see Hardin and Tessa together. They don’t want a love triangle, even though my Hollywood sensibilities are like, “Love triangle! That sells!” Here it’s like, “No, listen to the fans and let that be your guiding light.”

After We Fell is available everywhere on Digital HD and On Demand October 19.

About The Author

Tatiana Hullender
(636 Articles Published)

See also  The Walking Dead: 5 Reasons Negan Should Die (& 5 He Deserves Redemption)

Tatiana Hullender is a writer at Screen Rant, focusing on film and television, as well as a co-host of several podcasts. In the interviews she conducts for Screen Rant, she seeks to learn what drives each creative mind and how different experiences influence the same narrative. As a graduate of Columbia University in New York City, Tatiana studied theater and comparative literature. She has been passionate about all manner of storytelling since being exposed to Jane Austen and BBC adaptations of her work all at once. But Regency satire of manners isn’t the only genre she loves, as a love of comic books naturally developed into a love of cinematic universes and their superheroes. So long as a story has heart and humor, there’s a chance of finding something to enjoy in the telling of it.
Visit @myrcellasear on Twitter to follow Tatiana’s articles, interviews and podcasts including: The Flash Podcast, Pop A La Carte and Ladies With Gumption. Subscribe to them on the Podcast app, or contact her directly at painted(dot)out(at)gmail.com.

More From Tatiana Hullender