Starring: Juno Temple, Kathryn Hahn, Josh Radnor.
Afternoon Delight, follows husband and wife who invite a stripper they meet to come stay with them and become a nanny for their child.
The idea for this film was fairly unique and extremely well written. The film delves into many different subjects related to love, marriage and adulthood.
The characters each had their own problems and it was interesting watching them unravel. Juno Temple plays stripper/nanny McKenna and puts on a brilliant performance. She has the perfect balance of cool but innocent and doesn't over or under-play her role at all. Kathryn Hahn who plays wife/mother Rachel also puts on a great performance, playing a neurotic but also relatable character whose mental state becomes very interesting. Both were perfectly cast.
The plot was an interesting social study and was written in a very real and honest way. I like that the adults didn't shy away from subjects such as abortion and drugs even though they were written as parents. The characters were written as very complex and interesting people which made the film much more enjoyable.
The script also had both some very poignant and fairly quotable moments. It feels like there should've been more insight into the life of McKenna or even husband Jeff (Josh Radnor) as the latter half of the film is situated around them briefly but nonetheless it still worked.
Cinematography wise, the film was well shot. It held very pretty suburban bright settings which were filtered down into a familiar indie aesthetic. I wouldn't say cinematography was the strong point in Afternoon Delight as nothing majorly stood out as amazing but it was still memorable.
Overall, Afternoon Delight was an insightful view into the world of marriage. Although these rich suburban white people only seem to have lack of sex to complain about and not too much substance, it was still interesting to watch and maybe their lack of substance was the point especially with the comparison of their stripper find.
