Un été à Cold Spring

A complete nothingness of a movie with nothing to root for, nothing to remember besides very dark screen at night and bright one at day with sad, sad, sad faces. It's not even depressing, it's a compote of psychology, girls in their twenties who look like thirties and so much slow-paced edited cuts that after a while you just see the colors of the photographies, their clothes, furnitures, asphalt and trees.

Glad that it wasn't made as a mini series.

• Screenplay/story: 3
• Development: 6
• Realism: 4.5
• Entertainment: 2
• Acting: 4
• Filming/photography/cinematography: 4.5
• Visual/special effects: 4
• Music/score: 5.5
• Depth: 5
• Logic: 4
• Flow: 1.5
• Drama: 2
• Ending: 1.

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?

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.

Writer/Director Rebecca Eskreis set out to leverage a suspense tale off the well-worn townie-vs-tourist theme, and pretty much succeeds. In a period where all the A-listers are now working in the streaming world, competent little films like this one are no longer quite as common as they used to be, with "new lows" being set daily in the indie world. Not only do the two young leads work well together, but Hublitz (of Ozarks fame) shows an authenticity that reminds one of a young Laura Dern, with a very promising career ahead. Thumps up.

I though the movie was good. Decent plot line and edge to it. The writers could have done better to explain what was actually happening vs what the characters believed and knew. But the actresses played it well and if you pay enough attention yourself it's easy to get it.