MOVIE REVIEW
“SUMMERLAND”
Rated PG. On Amazon, iTunes, VUDU, YouTube and more.
Grade: B
Set in Kent, England, during the evacuation from London in World War II, “Summerland” tells the story of two people: Alice Lamb (Gemma Arterton), a gay, reclusive writer whose area of expertise is folklore and mythology, and Frank (Lucas Bond), a young boy from London who is assigned to live with the extremely reluctant and non-maternal Alice in her beach house. It is a classic case of mismatched buddies forced together.
The unmarried and unattached Alice is thought of as an “eccentric” by the townsfolk, including the head of the local school Mr. Sullivan (British film icon Tom Courtenay), who is almost certainly gay, too. Curly, dark-haired Frank is accepted by the local children, including fellow maverick Edie Corey (Dixie Egerickx).
In flashbacks we learn that in the Swinging ’20s, Alice had an affair with a free-spirited young woman named Vera (Gugu Mbatha-Raw). The affair was idyllic until Vera decided that she wanted to become a mother and the two women split up, leaving Alice utterly bereft and still full of longing.
Alice is working on stories about the Fata Morgana and other mirages known in mythology and folklore. Meanwhile, Frank draws planes and makes a model of a plane his father, a pilot, has flown in his career with the R.A.F.
The children of the area refer to Alice as “the witch” and vandalize her property. With her green and brown tartan coat, Alice could be a woodland fairy. Alice learns to tolerate Frank and eventually tells him about Summerland, the pagan idea of heaven, she says. He goes to school and romps on the beach, sometimes with Edie. In one sequence, Alice and Frank travel to a bit of English coastline, where Alice believes a certain kind of mirage is possible because of physics.
Written and directed by English playwright Jessica Swale, “Summerland” is a lovely tale overall. But there are elements to the story that I found a bit off-putting, including the idea that a reclusive, intelligent woman would speak about kissing another woman to a strange boy in her charge during World War II. I also found it hard to understand why Frank is so readily accepted by his classmates. He is obviously different and a bit exotic looking in this land of transparent blondes. Surely, someone would have questioned the boy about his background.
Thus, I found “Summerland” too artificial and at times contrived to enjoy completely, although Alice’s loneliness and Frank’s fears are handled very nicely by the actors. Arterton is convincing as the well-educated lesbian who finds God and religion to be “hokum.” Music by Volker Bertelmann (“The Art of Racing in the Rain”) add just the right romantic touch.
Olivier Award-winning Swale is working on bringing her play “Nell Gwynn” to the screen. The play opened at the Globe in 2015 with Mbatha-Raw in the title role. Arterton took over in 2016 when it moved to the West End. Like life, “Summerland” is full of coincidences.
(“Summerland” contains a sexually suggestive scene and emotional anguish.)
"easy" - Google News
July 31, 2020 at 04:33PM
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‘Summerland’ – and the nostalgic escapism is easy - Boston Herald
"easy" - Google News
https://ift.tt/38z63U6
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