CATRIONA PAUL at the Movies.

PAWEL PAWLIKOWSKI’s film won Best New British Feature Film at this year’s Edinburgh Film Festival but it’s second time round for the director. Last Resort  took the same award in 2000. Whilst the first film focused on the life of a refugee woman coming to Britain, his latest feature places two English teenagers firmly at the centre of the action.
  
Mona (Nathalie Press) lives above a pub with her evangelical brother who found God whilst in prison. She meets Tamsin (Emily Blunt) whilst out with her motorless moped. Tamsin is on her horse and comes from the big house at the end of a fairytale driveway.
  
A friendship develops between the two girls which at first seems unlikely given their different backgrounds. Mona offers wit and another world of experience that Tamsin, a wannabe bohemian, craves. Tamsin has money and dresses, and a carefree approach, which is equally beguiling to Mona.
 
Soon, the pair are testing whether their friendship is destined to become something more romantic. Trouble is on the horizon however, in the shape of Mona’s brother (Paddy Considine) who senses something amiss with the friendship and with Tamsin – aware and wary of her seductiveness.
  
This is an undeniably sexy film. Press and Blunt light up the screen with beauty and sensuality whilst Considine is a potent threat. The story is set against the Yorkshire Dales, which has been filmed with a slightly magical feel. The hills are green, the water sparkles, the town nestles, the sunlight plays in the leaves. The girls are free to indulge as long as the warmth lasts.
  
Pawlikowski has said that he would find it hard to fall in love in an environment full of artificial distractions – “visual clutter”, too much sound. He also said that he wants to create characters that he would like to spend time with, complete with imperfections. Here he has created a film with the visual space and freedom to allow the girls to fall, or feign falling, in love whilst entertaining each other, and the audience.  With captivating performances, young love and a lush landscape, My Summer of Love is a very watchable, quite remarkable film.
  
MY SUMMER OF LOVE
Selected cinemas.

Director: Pawel Pawlikowski
Writers: Helen Cross (novel)
Pawel Pawlikowski
Cast: Nathalie Press, Emily Blunt, Paddy Considine, Dean Andrews
Certificate: 15
Running Time: 86
Country: UK

© Catriona Paul, 2004