Without using therm old-fashioned too liberally, we might well be on familiar ground with the release of Summerland. Immediately identifiable for those of us that found a place in our hearts for Michelle Magorian’s wartime novel, Goodnight Mister Tom, or, indeed, much of the familial snarks of Roald Dahl.
Summerland is a fine feature debut from Olivier-winning British director Jessica Swale. Whose theatre background is warmly evident in the tale of wartime isolation, castles in the sky, forbidden romance and that all important and influential childhood generation.
Summerland opens in the early 1970s, where an older Alice Lamb (the always suitably cast, Penelope Wilton) is trying to keep her focus in front of her typewriter. The almost comical depiction of her being interrupted by two inquisitive kids knocking on her cottage door (and thus telling them to bugger off) reflects later as an innate character trait. Alice is not cruel, she barks but does not bite. Rather acts not just out of a once potentially denied happiness, but in line with her own tame rapscallion nature.
The body of the film ventures back to rural Southern England during the second World War. Alice (Gemma Arterton) has missed the letter informing her of the imminent arrival of her very own London evacuee, Frank (Lucas Bond). Much to her surprise – she wants no such thing as the responsibility of a child she doesn’t know, let alone the interruption of her work.
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Just prior, in am immediate mirror of the opening scene, Alice is disturbed by young visitors. Only this time around the little scamps are shoving twigs and dirt through her letterbox. Her self-repelling from society somewhat unfairly gives her the moniker of a stray cat. Or as she later comments herself, a spinster who should own cats. Some kids even mutter ‘witch’.
Being misunderstood, as well as carrying that fractious aura with you, is what makes Alice such a rich character overall. She might protest here and there, and earn her near-recluse status, but Alice we soon discover doesn’t warrant the cold disapprovals of a select few of the locals. Not concrete bullying, but a further delve back into Alice’s past reveals more social denunciation with a same-sex romance with a mixed race young woman.
Alice may as well be embroiled in the folklore research she engulfs herself with. A writer and a thinker clearly wounded by her younger years. The arrival of little Frank, a perky and enthusiastic soul, is just the remedy she didn’t order. Alice has little inclination of taking care of a child, nor does she believe she wants to. By the time the spirited Frank is digging her potatoes, he is also unconsciously scooping soil from a fragile heart.
The archetypal supporting characters help balance the conflict and the advancement within the plot. With school classmate, Edie (Dixie Egerickx), armed with scowls and suspicions, while the jovial, chance-giving school headteacher (Tom Courtenay) lays some of the ground work for acceptance.
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The aforementioned love backstory provides motive for Alice’s bristly shoulders, without careering off in a central romance that might otherwise have swallowed up a hefty chunk of Summerland’s tale. Alice is not over Vera (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), likely a decade after their 1930s courtship. The coverage given to their liaisons perfectly aligns Vera’s eventual question of wanting a family and a child. But it also perhaps doesn’t give them enough time to breathe and enjoy the flourishing affections amidst the sunbeams and soft focus.
We’re accustomed to the kind of domestic brush strokes that Summerland utilises to tell its story, but they are ones which appeal to our fervent senses. The conspicuous plot points – like when Frank slips on a rock and Alice has to plunge into the sea and rescue him – are par for the course. Some well earn their place. Even the conveniently mirrored flashback snippets showing the free-spirited nature of two characters feels warm and cozy – even for those that claim they saw that coming. Stories have to come from somewhere, right?
Filmmaker Jessica Swale has Summerland in safe hands. Handling such charm, grief, social discourse, personal growth, and all manner of human virtues with the kind of nourishment that cinema audiences once craved without scrutiny. Swales treads delicately across familiar crowd-pleasing waters – there’s a certain comfort in even the saddest of story threads.
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The music score from Volker Bertelmann encapsulates the mystery, the wonder, the heart of Summerland. Whether or not it aches or it swells into over-sentimentality at times will vary. And even in darker times, the beautiful countryside and coastline of Dover and Ramsgate niggle at you to book a holiday there at once. Lens-captured by Ben Wheatley’s regular cinematographer, Laurie Rose, Summerland is sumptuous to the eyes throughout.
Plenty of attention to such detail is also food for the soul. The organic communication through sending and receiving letters, or the creativity expressed by the tap-tap-tap of the typewriter, help convince us of this time. The few frantic scenes in London capture the time even in its rapid edits. Tender loving care has been taken to create the war-dwelling capital city. That kind of costume, prop, extra work we take for granted is used immaculately here.
Summerland, then, refreshes in equal measures. A splash in the summertime lake is as romantic, as a cliffside cottage is an ideal place to be alone with your thoughts and memories. The backstory romance shot with glows of gold against the pleasantly isolated countryside made to look paler as we return even if the sun does shine. Another win for natural lighting. The paint-by-numbers aspects of Summerland are largely what make it so comforting and affecting, though could have been elevated by perhaps brushing outside of the lines. Even just a little bit.
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It is fair to say that Gemma Arterton has been chipping away over the years in demonstrating her acting chops (The Girl with All the Gifts, Their Finest). With Summerland, the bohemian, head-scarfed bookworm that is Alice, illustrates the English actress can be an assured, homely presence in cinema. The camera perhaps never loves her this much.
Arterton has always worn tints of mischief and crankiness on her acting sleeves, but here conveys a much deeper bag of emotional range. Alice’s wry smile as Frank winces with the stings of her tending to his grazed knee, is from a place of pride that he might toughen up, rather than enjoying his pain. Arterton is truly at home here.
Summerland is released in selected theaters and VOD platforms.
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Very good movie whit a beautifull soundtrack.