One of the things playing under the surface of "My Summer of Love" is the disparity in class and privilege between Mona and Tamsin. When we first meet them, Tamsin tells Mona she has been expelled from school. As a rich girl bored and with nothing to do, Tamsin accepts Mona as a pretty object, but we know from the beginning nothing is going to come about their love for one another. Rather, it appears that love is what Mona feels for the rich girl, not the other way around.
Paul Pavlikowsky's take on the Helen Cross' novel makes for an interesting film that on the surface seems to be an idyllic love between two teen age girls, when in reality no one seems to see the cruelty that Tamsin exerts in the more naive Mona. Tamsin lies about a sister without no shame; that same sister appears at the last moment in the film to ask Mona to return what she perceives as a stolen blouse, humiliating Mona even more. After all, Tamsin is going back to yet another school for rich girls while Mona has to stay in the small village with a broken heart that will not heal. Tamsin, in retrospect is a cool and calculating young woman who has no scruples or much less feels remorse for leading Mona to believe they will stay together forever.
The third main character of the story is the enigmatic Phil, Mona's brother. He does a complete change by joining an evangelical sect and he has left the pub go out of business. Phil is another troubled soul that has no problem at the end renouncing his ties to the religious group that has taken over his pub, and his life. While Phil seems to care for his sister Mona, he is a distant man, in spite of his newly found religiosity. Where he should have been kind and loving, he grows distant and into himself.
The three main characters in "My Summer of Love" are well drawn. Natalie Press gives a fine account of Mona, the more naive of the two girls. She is an unsophisticated girl who has no social graces and is completely dazzled by the more savvy Tamsin. Emily Blunt, a beautiful young actress is perfect as Tamsin, a manipulator, who will have Mona believe that she truly cares for her, when in reality, she is only amusing herself while confined to the summer house in the country. Paddy Considine does a good job as the sullen Phil, the man who finds religion and then abandons it.
The film, under the fine direction of Mr. Pavlikowsky needs the viewer's attention to see the nuances under the story unfolding in front us.
Paul Pavlikowsky's take on the Helen Cross' novel makes for an interesting film that on the surface seems to be an idyllic love between two teen age girls, when in reality no one seems to see the cruelty that Tamsin exerts in the more naive Mona. Tamsin lies about a sister without no shame; that same sister appears at the last moment in the film to ask Mona to return what she perceives as a stolen blouse, humiliating Mona even more. After all, Tamsin is going back to yet another school for rich girls while Mona has to stay in the small village with a broken heart that will not heal. Tamsin, in retrospect is a cool and calculating young woman who has no scruples or much less feels remorse for leading Mona to believe they will stay together forever.
The third main character of the story is the enigmatic Phil, Mona's brother. He does a complete change by joining an evangelical sect and he has left the pub go out of business. Phil is another troubled soul that has no problem at the end renouncing his ties to the religious group that has taken over his pub, and his life. While Phil seems to care for his sister Mona, he is a distant man, in spite of his newly found religiosity. Where he should have been kind and loving, he grows distant and into himself.
The three main characters in "My Summer of Love" are well drawn. Natalie Press gives a fine account of Mona, the more naive of the two girls. She is an unsophisticated girl who has no social graces and is completely dazzled by the more savvy Tamsin. Emily Blunt, a beautiful young actress is perfect as Tamsin, a manipulator, who will have Mona believe that she truly cares for her, when in reality, she is only amusing herself while confined to the summer house in the country. Paddy Considine does a good job as the sullen Phil, the man who finds religion and then abandons it.
The film, under the fine direction of Mr. Pavlikowsky needs the viewer's attention to see the nuances under the story unfolding in front us.