In a nutshell, one summer two young British women from different classes meet and befriend one another, and eventually their relationship gets romantic. That may not sound terribly original, but the way it's executed here by director Pawel Pawlikowski is lovely, and this film has a lot going for it. It's also not as predictable as it may seem.
Natalie Press and Emily Blunt are both brilliant in the lead roles, and easily make this film worth seeing. The moments when Press imitates the devil and when she shows Blunt how a man shags her are priceless. So is seeing Blunt playing the cello and their dancing scene to Goldfrapp's dreamy 'Lovely Head.' The pair have a physical relationship but I liked how restrained Pawlikowski was in showing this. There are wonderful scenes of them disappearing into the flowers and sitting in front of the firelight in silhouette, but what they say and do never feels cliché.
Meanwhile, the patriarchy is on display via the hypocritical brother who has "found God," the backstory of the father who's abandoned the family, and the guy who cheats on his wife with a young woman and then ruthlessly discards her. The film is saying something about men and women here, but it's also saying something about class. I won't spoil it, but the ending is fantastic. At 86 minutes long, it was the perfect length too.
Natalie Press and Emily Blunt are both brilliant in the lead roles, and easily make this film worth seeing. The moments when Press imitates the devil and when she shows Blunt how a man shags her are priceless. So is seeing Blunt playing the cello and their dancing scene to Goldfrapp's dreamy 'Lovely Head.' The pair have a physical relationship but I liked how restrained Pawlikowski was in showing this. There are wonderful scenes of them disappearing into the flowers and sitting in front of the firelight in silhouette, but what they say and do never feels cliché.
Meanwhile, the patriarchy is on display via the hypocritical brother who has "found God," the backstory of the father who's abandoned the family, and the guy who cheats on his wife with a young woman and then ruthlessly discards her. The film is saying something about men and women here, but it's also saying something about class. I won't spoil it, but the ending is fantastic. At 86 minutes long, it was the perfect length too.