Synopsis
Pawel Pawlikowski’s My Summer of Love is a poetic British drama about the first love’s brutality, the class divide, and carefreeness of the world’s reality, with haunting undertones. It is set in the expansive and flowered countryside of Yorkshire during the summer of 2003 and showcases the emotional development of two young women from very different worlds. A relationship that begins as a simple friendship evolves into that of a complex and deep bond that is sensual and catastrophic.
Mona, played by Natalie Press, is a simple working class teen who is drifting aimlessly through life. She’s a young women who is lost and lacks a sense of direction. She lives with a brother, Phil, in an old and dusty pub that no longer serves any customers. Phil, played by Paddy Considine, is a born-again Christian who recently turned his life around from a violent criminal to the life of a pious man. Phil is a bit of a lost soul, and the place where he and his sister live is no longer operational as a pub, so he can only offer boredom and emotional stagnancy.
Mona’s life undergoes transformation when she meets Tamsin (Emily Blunt), a girl of mystery and refinement who is wealthy and well-educated and is spending her summer in the countryside while suspended from a boarding school. Tamsin is the embodiment of sophisticated and rebellious charm. She brings with her a richly woven tapestry of cynical wit and worldly knowledge. Tamsin promptly sets about ‘educating’ Mona in art, music, and, most significantly, the concept of passionate romance.
Their world becomes a thrilling blend of deep interpersonal connection, intense escapism, and intoxicating love. They swim in the exquisite concealed rivers, philosophize about romance alongside melodramas of existence, love, and God, and of course, smoke and drink. It is evident the girls share something both obsessively and romantically intense. They share a raw and unbridled passion, unpredictable, and occasionally, emotionally manipulative.
Phil’s overly religious scrutiny and excessive zeal create a shadowy presence. He attempts to construct some new moral framework for Mona, looking to capture her under the veil of patriarchy, showing undue concern with her relationship with Tamsin. To everyone’s surprise, it is Mona who resists, choosing to side with Tamsin, the girl she feels gives her the taste of freedom she has always longed for.
The Story We Tell Ourselves shifts gears when Mona starts to doubt the nature of love shared between her and Tamsin. Tamsin’s narrative of her life, with a family consisting of an ailing sister and a fractured family, starts to break away. Mona, through her own investigation, realizes that Tamsin could be a different person from the romanticized, heroic character she has always portrayed. The dream world comes crumbling down, and Mona is left to face a truth that she wasn’t ready to accept.
The underlying message “The Story We Tell Ourselves” ends with is both cynical and powerful. The romantic fantasy leads to a devastating estrangement, shattering the emotion-logic world of both characters. The season of love turns into a Memory of Emotional Discovery, Intense Deception, and Heartbreak.
THIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED
NOT RATED
– FILM INFO –
Director
Trained in documentry and film, Polish born filmmaker, Pawel Pawlikowski gives the movie a sense of poetic realism. He is acclaimed for his later works such as winning an Oscar for Ida and Cold War, however, even in his earlier works, he exhibited his talent for atmosphere and character driven narratives.
Writers
Pawel Pawlikowski and Michael Wynne, loosely based on a novel in The Cross. The film takes several bold liberties choosing to focus more on the psychological tension and emotional ambiguity.
Main Cast
Mona is played by Natalie Press. Press as an actress accurately embodies a young woman coping with far older emotions as she struggles with great vulnerability and immense desire. It is a performance that is grounded and makes a pathetic character rather sympathetic.
Emily Blunt as Tamsin: Blunt is a revelation and adds a great deal of energy while her character Tamsin is together through a potent cocktail of charm, arrogance, and mystery. Blunt’s performance conveys a measure of both intelligence and danger that makes her character’s manipulations all the more interesting.
Paddy Considine as Phil: Considine’s portrayal of the reformed convict turned evangelist is both intense and unsettling. His character is balanced between the extremes of salvation and fanaticism. As the voice of religious morality in the story, he sharply contrasts the free-spirited world of Mona and Tamsin.
Cinematography
Ryszard Lenczewski: The visual tone of the film is one of its great strengths. The Yorkshire countryside is shown in rich, painterly hues that lend the setting an almost pastoral yet menacing quality. Cinematography like Lenczewski’s captures the characters’ emotional moments and the slow build of desire and the unraveling.
Soundtrack:
The score for the film was done by Goldfrapp and fits the mood perfectly. It is also ethereal and haunting, underscoring the dreamlike quality of the girls’ relationship and increasing the layers of sensuality and melancholy.
IMDb Ratings
My Summer of Love has a score of 6.7/10 on IMDb, with tens of thousands of users contributing to the score. While the film may not have blockbuster numbers, it is well respected in critical and arthouse film circles for its subtle intensity and powerful performances.
Critical Analysis
It was noted by critics for its striking images and subtle storytelling with strong performances by Natalie Press and Emily Blunt, who both drew praise. Blunt in particular was singled out as a star to watch, with many claiming this film was her breakout role.
The film won the prestigious BAFTA Award for Best British Film and earned numerous accolades on the festival circuit. They praised the director for his skill in marrying romance, psychological drama, and social commentary into a spare framework. The use of long shots, natural lighting, and unscripted dialogue gave the film a naturalistic and documentary quality.
Some watchers may have thought the film is too vague or slow, especially those looking for a traditional romance. These approaches could be divisive, but many prefer this type of structure because the film does not cheapen obsession or emotional complexity.
Another aspect of the film that received notable critical attention is the class differences between Mona and Tamsin. Their engagement signifies more than affection or sexuality, but dominion, power, and the false reality generated by wealth and education. Mona’s wish to break free from a dismal existence and Tamsin’s wish to reject the burden of privilege crash together. Within this conflict, truth becomes the first casualty.
Final thoughts.
My Summer of Love is a disturbing yet tender examination of the themes of youth, identity, and even illusion. It captures the exhilarating experience of first love alongside the deep disillusionment that can often follow. From the perspective of two young women tangled up in their fantasies and desires, Pawlikowski weaves a tale that is deeply personal yet resonates universally.
Instead of astonishing shocks or climactic turn of events, it’s the ambiance, the emotional layers, and the underlying morals of the story that stand out. A melancholic reminisce of the passionate, yearning, and painful truths of life lingers in the mind long after the credits roll.
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