Un été à Cold Spring

Greetings again from the darkness. We've seen movies where the seasonal residents interact with the locals, and often the class differences come into play. The term for northerners who head south for the winter is 'snowbirds'. In the Hudson Valley, we learn the 'townies' have a nickname for the rich folks who come for the summer ... 'Joy Riders'. This is the first feature film from writer-director Rebecca Eskreis, and she displays a real feel for the contrast that exists between these two groups.

Madelyn Cline (BOY ERASED, 2018) stars as Emily, one of the wealthy 'joy riders' who befriends local townie Sammy (Sofia Hublitz, who is so good as the daughter in "Ozark"). For no good reason, other than Madelyn's boredom, the two girls become friends. They hang out, play tennis, and have lunch together. One night they are at a party and things go bad with Sammy's creepy stepbrother Travis (Joel Allen, THE PURGE, 2019). The event not only tests the friendship of Sammy and Emily, but also reveals character and secrets from the past.

The film opens with a cool shot of Hudson Valley, and in fact, cinematographer Greta Zozula does a nice job through the entire film. As you would expect with teenagers, things get complicated, and the class difference is only part of what makes the story and characters interesting. Supporting roles are filled by Lukas Gage ("The White Lotus"), Aimee Mullins ("Stranger Things"), and Shakira Barrera ("GLOW"), but most of the heavy lifting here comes courtesy of Ms. Cline and Ms. Hublitz, despite both being a bit too old to play teenagers.

Not quite at the level of THOROUGHBREDS, a similar movie from 2018, the film certainly proves Rebecca Eskreis is a filmmaker to follow. She understands small town dynamics, class disparities, and female friendships ... and does so in a way that's grounded and realistic. There is no staginess to this production, and we have a real feel for the characters almost immediately - a tribute to the actors and the script.

In theaters and on Digital beginning October 1, 2021.

It's a great first hour of character building and acting. Super enjoyable drama and coming of age story. Once they introduce the lady detective the movie turns into a flaming pile of poop.

Why do writers want to force emotion and drama and use bad premises to do it. It's just crap man. The 2 lead actors are great and the first hour is also, but the last third ruin the entire movie and I can't give it a good rating. The end.

I really enjoyed this movie I never leave a review but why not this time. Two different young teenagers with different backgrounds and different personalities who became socially with one another in a corner store. Then started to hang out and they got close I don't want to spoil it for people that didn't see it because I can't stand when people do that. When that girl said you're my best friend I guess she meant it because these days you can't find no one loyal let alone a best friend . This movie gave trust, loyalty, grief, sexual abuse, p.t.s.d betrayal. I really enjoyed this movie I usually like suspense this is worth the watch.🎬

I'm writing this as I watch and I've just gotten to the big scene where "something" happens with Sammi's stepbrother (Travis) and Emily. I have no idea what. I've watched it twice and the low lighting still won't reveal the secret. No clue. Sammy is all teary eyed and she didn't even seem to like him. Emily is a zombie.

Now it's the morning after and neither girl is freaking out, scared. They don't even seem aware something happened. Radio silence.

Up until now it's been your typical Connecticut Yankee type of movie. Emily is rash and careless and knows she'll escape b/c she has money. Sammi is mostly the opposite. She knows she's stuck so she's a little more careful but can be tempted to the dark side.

There's jealousy from both girls. Emily has options. Sammi has freedom. Emily takes chances. Sammi sees repercussions. Emily gets to leave. Sammi has to stay.

There's romantic tension between Sammi and Travis, along with family tension and a divide about staying or going.

As the mystery unfolds, we see lots of flashbacks but the movie is lacking emotion. I know the director intended it to be there - the scenes suggest it should be, but it's missing. The one scene where I felt something is where Travis introduces music to a really sad scene - you can feel his intent and the results.

The scenery is beautiful - it's captured wonderfully in this small town that relies on seasonal tourism to breathe life into it. It's much like our two protagonists - one stuck, one flying by.

This is a very thoughtful movie, beautifully made and yes, rather slow. This isn't a movie for a John Wick audience. But that shouldn't deter you from watching. The sensitive and authentic portrayals of the two teenaged girls hooked me from the start. I found it interesting to watch their friendship unfold, and ultimately transform, because it seemed so real that you forget these are actors. But I am begging authors and film makers to please take more time to think about the names of your works. Anything that starts with "what" or "when" or "how" followed by some vague phrase is immediately forgettable. If I wanted to recommend this film to my friends, I wouldn't be able to, because I can't rem7 TV byember the name. And what does ice have to do with it?