After the Party

Why I took it off the list:

I was looking for something to review to break my Summer pause, and while browsing Filmin, this New Zealand series caught my eye, partly thanks to the presence of great Scottish actor Peter Mullen.

Not knowing much about the series apart from it revolves around the unraveling of a woman’s life, I went in mostly blind.

So, let’s dig in!

Review of After the Party

After the Party revolves around Penny (Robyn Malcolm), a fifty-something high school science teacher living in Wellington who appears to have a normal life.

She rides to school and back on her bike, enjoys wine and cheese in the evenings, and spends her spare time both looking after her grandson Walt and preparing to put her mother in a care home.

But her life is upended when her ex-husband Phil (Mullen) returns from Scotland after a 5-year absence. It’s implied that he left the family and country under some kind of scandal that took place at a party, and Penny is profoundly disturbed by his return.

The events of the fateful party are gradually revealed in flashback, culminating in a scene where Penny finds Bill lying in bed with a half-naked teenage boy who had been poorly earlier in the evening.

Convinced that something untoward was going on, Penny openly accuses Phil of sexual abuse in front of everyone at the party, only to find that no-one believes her and she’s written off as having had too much to drink.

But Penny is adamant about what she saw, and, after reflecting on previous incidents where Phil showed a little bit too much attention towards teenage boys, seeks to convince those around her.

Complicating matters in the present is the fact that her daughter Grace is fully willing to welcome her father back in to her and Walt’s life. She even invites him to stay in her grandmothers home with her, which doesn’t sit well with Penny.

When she learns that Phil has got a new job at another Academy for teenage boys, Penny makes it her mission to discredit him in an effort to protect other children.

For most of the series, it’s left ambiguous about whether Phil is or isn’t a pedophile, leaving us unsure about whether Penny is really fighting for a just cause or is simply misguided.

Malcolm Gives a Powerhouse Performance

I’d never heard of New Zealand actress Robyn Malcolm before this series, but boy does she make a strong impression here.

As Penny, she is bullish and no-nonsense, a fiercely committed teacher and devoted mother and grandmother who feels messy and real. Malcolm is fearless in the role, even stripping off for some nude scenes that only add to her character.

Her rebellious nature is nicely highlighted by a sequence where, clad all in black and with a balaclava, she kayaks out to graffiti a fishing boat that has violated local zoning laws.

We also feel deeply for her when Phil’s presence begins to create a rift between her and Grace, with Malcolm ably conveying her despair over the situation.

The supporting cast, which includes Elz Carrad (Rūrangi) and Tara Canton as Grace, are all solid, but apart from Malcolm, Peter Mullen dominates the screen as Phil. He plays him a genial every man, which is all the more shocking when his manipulative side emerges in heated arguments.

The series is also gorgeously shot, from evocative shots of seaweed tumbling through green waters, to the moody environs of Wellington, the city becoming a character itself.

Final score: 8/10

After the Party: Worth Watching?

Yes, After the Party is a gripping series that raises some complex and murky moral questions, while giving us a strong yet messy protagonist to root for.