For the last few weeks, whenever somebody asked me if I have seen any good movies, my first answer met with blank stares. Maybe it's the title; I agree that "My Summer of Love" sounds a little corny. Talking about the plot doesn't help much either: two teenage girls who fall in love one summer. On top of that, the filmmaker's name is hard to pronounce and not many people have heard of him. Which is unfortunate, as Pawel Pawlikowski's first film, "Last Resort," a Kafkaesque tale of a Russian mother and son trapped immigration limbo, was truly remarkable. "My Summer of Love" is arguably the best film of the summer, perhaps even the year.
Nathalie Press in "My Summer of Love"
Pavlikovski, who shoots without a script and relies entirely upon improvisation, knows how to coax incredible, true to life performances from his actors. Mona (Nathalie Press), a local Yorkshire girl with a thick accent and red hair, lives in an apartment above a neighborhood pub that has been transformed into a church by her born-again older brother (Paddy Considine). Her boyfriend is a brute, her mother dead, and her father long gone. Mona leads a lonely, aimless life, yet her character is so vibrant that her sad circumstances are almost gut wrenching. Press is an absolute marvel in her debut performance. Every thing that comes from her mouth takes you by surprise, and her throaty impersonation of the devil is not to be forgotten.
Everything changes for Mona when meets Tasmin (in a luminous, biting performance by another newcomer Emily Blunt). In contrast to Mona's rough exterior, Tasmin has money written all over her. It's not just the horse she rides or the haughty upper-crust accent, the deserted ivy covered mansion, or the beautiful clothes. Tasmin has got a sense of self possession and entitlement that sets her apart. When privileged Tamsin learns that Mona's mother only recently died of cancer, she manages to trump her new friend's pain with a sister dead of anorexia.
The intense passion between these girls is defined by a marvelous, nerve-wracking give and take. Tasmin dares Mona to be wild, and Mona-- who has no problem smashing the windows of a stranger's home, ingesting mind altering drugs without hesitation, or mocking Christian worshippers to their face--dares Tasmin to go further. Tasmin commits herself to Mona. She makes enormous promises, promises which Mona, against her better judgment accepts.
The girl's mutual exultation is mesmerizing, but all along there is a sinister undercurrent. If Tasmin is playing with Mona's heart, what then? In youth, there is heartbreak. Pawlikowski masterfully renders a simple story of friendship into a genuine thriller.
