Meu Amor de Verão

Beautifully acted and gorgeously filmed, this movie had all the makings of a great combination coming-of-age story slash love story, but it encountered the same problem so many other almost-great movies (Rain Man, anyone?) have: it has no ending...it just...stops. Naturally the climax is the most difficult story element to envision and pull off, but come on, you gotta put in a little more effort than this. The film's third act contains some delightful twists, which seem to set the stage for a powerful ending, but it seems like the filmmakers simply ran out of ideas, or couldn't agree on one. Still worth your time, for the fantastic performances of Emily Blunt (remember that name!!) and the always reliable Paddy Considine, not to mention the lead (I forgot her name), but it just leaves such a bad taste in your mouth when a movie comes this close to being great.

I really enjoyed this film. I especially liked the langour of its pacing (helped by a wonderful soundtrack), certainly at the start where we simply observe the girls hanging out together drinking copious amounts of red wine and smoking constantly. Something about the timelessness, the heaviness of the heat, the bird song and buzzing insects caught perfectly that summer after 'A' levels where there is nothing to do but simply live, spend time with friends, and fantasies can take on a larger and more defined shape than realities. The 'lesbian' angle was handled deftly - though as another user commented, it would be good to see a film which manages to trace the intensity of female adolescent friendships without having them be sexual in nature - but this is a very special time, and the film caught that beautifully. The poignancy of Mona's existence was undersold as well, which gave it a greater power - she is the one who has truly suffered loss, whereas Tamsin... well, you have to make up your own mind about that. A minor film, but hits its notes perfectly.

First of all, the young leads Nathalie Press and Emily Blunt acted superbly; these newcomers are really stunning for the way they movingly played this character drama, showing every sort of emotion a human being may feel. "My summer of love" is not only a lesbian love affair between two needy and sexy teens, set in a beautiful countryside, but it's also a thoughtful portrayal of friendship, deception and obsession. In spite of a story starting as an erotic drama it finally turns into a suspenseful and powerful situation. Last but not least Paddy Considine is also up to the film brightness, rendering a man whose redemption seems to slowly fade.

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.

This film is basically about two girls who find each other and engage in a tender and passionate love affair. One might stop right there and feel that that makes for a great movie.

However, this film is so much more. It had the unfortunate circumstance of going up against Vera Drake, else it might have taken every British and European award for 2004.

Yes, there is a tender and passionate love affair between Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada), in only her second film, and Nathalie Press (who we will see this year in Brontë). But the film is so much more.

They don't spend all their time making love; they do have some fun, and it's really funny.

There is the brother, played by Paddy Considine (Hot Fuzz), who found Jesus in prison (don't they all?) and is concerned for his sister's soul. His new-found spirituality is severely tested and found wanting.

Things are not what they appear, and director Pawel Pawlikowski does a great job of taking us to the surprising ending. Just when you think you know how it will end, you are fooled and fooled again.

This is a must-see.