My Summer of Love [DVD]

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There's a tantalizing touch of irony in the title My Summer of Love, since this superbly-acted relationship drama reveals much more than love between its curiously fascinating characters. As directed by Polish-born Pawel Pawlikowski (a veteran of British TV documentaries whose previous film was the praiseworthy Last Resort), this unconventional love story is an engrossing exercise in mood and psychology, set in a bleak but invitingly sunlit village in Yorkshire. It's there that lonely, working-class teenager Mona (Nathalie Press) encounters rebellious rich-girl Tamsin (Emily Blunt), and their unlikely friendship grows intimate... but is it really love? Or is Tamsin (who was suspended from boarding school) merely indulging her clever penchant for emotional manipulation during a lazy summer of privilege? Mona's born-again Christian brother (Paddy Considine) factors into the film's languorous mood and complex emotional landscape; this is a film in which love and loss are inseparably intertwined, and motivations remain partially hidden, making it all the more powerful when guarded truths are revealed. In addition to being a compelling study of class distinctions, My Summer of Love includes scenes of anxious menace and some unexpected surprises, packing more into 84 minutes than most films manage in two hours or more. Pawlikowski was listed among "10 directors to watch" in a 2005 article in Variety, and My Summer of Love validates that acclaim. --Jeff Shannon