Common Sense Media Review
Coming-of-age tale has teen sex, drugs, and language.
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My Summer of Love
What's the Story?
In MY SUMMER OF LOVE, Mona (Natalie Press) is feeling confined by the Yorkshire village where she's lived all her life. Everything changes when she meets lovely, upper-class Tamsin (Emily Blunt). The girls hit it off and, as Tamsin's parents are away, they begin to spend their days in the family's luxurious grand mansion and grounds. Working-class Mona enjoys the fineries, but her brother, Phil (Paddy Considine) -- just released from prison -- worries that she's away from home, and his newfound religious interests strain the siblings' relationship. The girls' romance builds slowly. They share secrets, as when Tamsin recalls her dead sister's struggle with anorexia and takes up Mona's defense over her ex-lover, a married man (Dean Andrews), with whom she shared clandestine, joyless, backseat sex before her dumped her. Eventually, Phil's efforts to control Mona drive her to make a choice between her known past and the unknowable Tamsin.
Is It Any Good?
An intricate study of high school-age rebellion and yearning, My Summer of Love makes a familiar plot seem new. In part this is because it takes the view of young Mona, superbly portrayed by Natalie Press. The girls' budding romance evolves in an alternately fluid and jaunty process as they explore one another and their own feelings, partly a function of cinematographer Ryszard Lenczewski's adept handheld camerawork, and partly of Pawlikowski's experience as a documentary maker.
Each member of this threesome is obsessive in his or her own way. When Phil literally locks Mona in her bedroom in an effort to "save" her, she begins drawing Tamsin's portrait on her wall. This image -- colored chalk on the roughhewn surface -- showcases Tamsin's eye as Mona perceives and needs it, a means to see herself reflected.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the relationship between orphaned Mona and her brother. How might they alleviate tensions by discussing their differences? Is her hope that he'll be "like he was" before prison both unrealistic and understandable? How? And how does she see his efforts to protect her as efforts to control her?
How does the film show problems caused by deceit -- between siblings, friends, and lovers? How does Mona's yearning for escape lead her to believe promises that can't be true?
How does this compare to other coming-of-age movies you've seen?
Movie Details
- In theaters : June 17, 2005
- On DVD or streaming : October 11, 2005
- Cast : Emily Blunt , Natalie Press , Paddy Considine
- Director : Pawel Pawlikowski
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Focus Features
- Genre : Drama
- Run time : 86 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : sexuality, language and some drug use
- Last updated : April 22, 2020
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