The Art of Restraint

The aesthetic blend between music and image in films impacts the processing and development of a scene or sequence, the characterisation of a protagonist, and the perception of an emotional stimulus (Windisch et al., 2023). This chapter contributes new perspectives to the broadening interest in the stylistic analysis of cinema by analysing a pivotal sequence from the critically acclaimed film Aftersun (Wells, 2022) and its use of an altered version of the song ‘Under Pressure’, originally sung by Queen and David Bowie. In order to analyse the hidden ‘inner worlds of consciousness and feeling’ (Scott, 2022), this chapter draws on narratology, film theory, musicology, and telecinematic stylistics for the analysis and interpretation of the film&s;s ending and the preponderantly used visual storytelling strategies. Some of the key employed terms are disnarration (Prince, 1988; Lambrou, 2016), burying (Emmott and Alexander, 2014), and foregrounding and backgrounding . Additionally, the discussion considers the importance of cinematography in the meaning-making act, such as costumes, musical re-arrangement, lighting, and character positioning. The qualitative analysis of the film&s;s ending exposes the presence of a backgrounded narrative, hidden under the effervescence of a summer holiday, of the film&s;s manipulation of its visual and aural features, characterisation, and narrative disclosure.