‘Summerland’ is an excellent movie most will enjoy more than me

Posted on August 7, 2020

By MARK VIOLA

By its very nature, reviewing movies is a subjective endeavor. Just because I say a movie is good doesn’t mean you’re going to like it. The opposite is true as well.

Sometimes I just connect with a particular movie, and when  that happens, I try to note that others might not like it as much as I did. Likewise, a movie can push the wrong buttons, turning me off of what is otherwise an excellent film.

That is the case with “Summerland,” the video-on-demand (VOD) release from writer/director Jessica Swale, who has had an Award-winning career in theatre. A strong story, engaging characters, stellar performances and beautiful settings combine to make this objectively one of the better films I’ve seen so far this summer. As such, I highly recommend you watch “Summerland” if it sounds like something you would enjoy.

The story is set during World War II on the coast of England, where a reclusive writer, Alice (Gemma Arterton, “Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters”), is happy to be left alone, if you don’t count the village children who think she’s a witch. One day, a town official stops by with young Frank (Lucas Bond, “Of Kings and Prophets”), an evacuee from London that she is expected to care for until his parents can come for him.

At first, she wants nothing to do with him, demanding he be sent to another home, but eventually she begins opening up, telling him about her own past as well as her research into attempting to find the truth and science behind folklore.

Arterton is excellent in this movie, and her performance would be included in a list of the best I’ve seen so far in 2020. Gugu Mbatha-Raw (“Belle”) is also quite good in a more limited role as a past love interest. For her first time directing a feature film, Swale shows a steady hand behind the camera.

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