Arnold Schwarzenegger plays the main role in the film “Aftermath.” Aftermath is based on true events from 2002, but does not portray itself as an every-detail based film. The movie’s storyline revolves around a plane crash where the air traffic controller is blamed for the incident and events that occur.
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character, Roman, is furious because his wife and pregnant daughter were on the plane when it crashed and they died. The lawyers do not offer Roman what he wants, which is justice for his family.
Because of this, Roman is determined to get justice any way that he can. He specifically says that he just wants to look at the air traffic controller in the eye and have him apologize to him. But in truth, Roman wants to kill the man, but you’ll just have to watch the film to see if that actually happens.
The air traffic controller is told that he needs to change his life in order not to get murdered because there are many people that are after him. The film generally revolves around the intense thoughts and emotions of Jake, the air traffic controller, played by Scoot McNairy, and Roman, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character.
Something interesting about the film is that rather than focusing on those who died, it pivots its focus on the survivors and everything that came next, hence the name of the film. The performances given by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Scoot McNairy are fabulous given that the film turns into profiling the journeys that both of their characters are going on.
The idea of two men’s lives being shattered over one situation like this provides a gateway into the separate emotional journey of the survivors. One is seeking out an apology and perhaps more, while one fears for his life and has to completely alter it. Both lives are changed and they will eventually intersect at a moment of truth.
The scene that defined Schwarzenegger’s role in the movie is when he volunteers at the crash site to help clean it up while nobody knew of his connection to the accident. This film is a great example of how something that would be thought of like an action movie is more of a real-life drama. Schwarzenegger is usually known for being entertaining, and here, he shows you how talented he is as a serious dramatic actor.
This is a complicated role because it requires so much emotional capacity to play it correctly. Schwarzenegger reaching out of his comfort zone shows the extra mile he is willing to take to remind the audience that he is an extremely talented actor. Because the emotion in this film is so deep, Schwarzenneger played the role carefully by not making these emotions seem too exaggerated. He had the perfect balance of making the visual emotion seem natural while playing into the seriousness of the character.
You definitely will not be used to seeing Arnold in this type of dramatic acting role. It shows emotion where it needs to be shown and restrains it when it needs to be restrained.
Arnold Schwarzenegger has had quite the journey in his own life. He was born in Austria and started weightlifting and bodybuilding from a very young age. He started his Hollywood acting career and became known for his role in The Terminator films. In the early 2000s, Schwarzenneger was elected the governor of California and he held that role from 2003-2011. After his political career, Arnold returned to acting and found himself in different roles than he had been used to in the past.
The combined acting by Scoot McNairy and Arnold Schwarzenneger puts this film in a highly regarded category of being a thrilling drama. The two lead roles were phenomenal in showing the emotional journey of two men after such an accident. The film is produced by Darren Aronofsky, Randall Emmett, George Furla. Executive Producers include Barry Booker, Ted Fox, Wayne Marc Godfrey, Ari Handel, Anthony Jabre, Robert Jones, Vance Owen, Steven Saxton, Mark Stewart, Stan Wertlieb.
