My Summer of Love (2004)

In the Yorkshire countryside, working-class tomboy Mona meets the exotic, pampered Tamsin. Over the summer season, the two young women discover they have much to teach one another, and much to explore together.

Director:

Pawel Pawlikowski

Writers:

Helen Cross (novel), Pawel Pawlikowski,

Stars:

Natalie Press, Emily Blunt, Paddy Considine

8 wins & 19 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Natalie Press	...	Mona
Emily Blunt	...	Tamsin
Paddy Considine	...	Phil
Dean Andrews	...	Ricky
Michelle Byrne	...	Ricky's Wife
Paul Antony-Barber	...	Tamsin's Father
Lynette Edwards	...	Tamsin's Mother
Kathryn Sumner	...	Sadie

Storyline

A tale of obsession and deception, and the struggle for love and faith in a world where both seem impossible. The film charts the emotional and physical hothouse effects that bloom one summer for two young women: Mona, behind a spiky exterior, hides an untapped intelligence and a yearning for something beyond the emptiness of her daily life; Tamsin is well-educated, spoiled and cynical. Complete opposites, each is wary of the other's differences when they first meet, but this coolness soon melts into mutual fascination, amusement and attraction. Adding volatility is Mona's older brother Phil, who has renounced his criminal past for religious fervor - which he tries to impose upon his sister. Mona, however, is experiencing her own rapture. "We must never be parted," Tamsin intones to Mona but can Mona completely trust her?

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Plot Keywords:

summer | deception | love | crucifix | woman smoker | 

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Taglines:

The most dangerous thing to want is more.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality, language and some drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [uk] Official site [us]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 November 2004 (UK)

Also Known As:

Amor de Verão

Filming Locations:

Cornholme, West Yorkshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£1,700,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$90,022 (USA) (17 June 2005)

Gross:

$992,238 (USA) (5 August 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Apocalypso Pictures, Film Consortium, The, BBC Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Marcel Cerdan, the boxer, wasn't Édith Piaf's husband. He was her lover and the love of her life. He died in a plane crash and she never recovered from his death. She never killed anyone, let alone with a fork.

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Quotes

Tamsin: What's he making?
Mona: A cross. He's putting it up at the top of the hill to cleanse the valley of evil.

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Connections

Featured in 2006 Glitter Awards (2006)

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Soundtracks

"Lovely Head"
Written by Goldfrapp and Will Gregory
Performed by Goldfrapp
Licensed courtesy of Mute Records
Copyright Warner Chappell Music Publishing Ltd

User Reviews

A Very Good Drama About People

I saw this movie in Albany, NY USA and I thought it was great. I admit, I went because the two young girls were super hot and lesbians are always sexy. But watching it, I really got to like the people in the story. It's not really a sexy movie, but it's a very good drama about people.

Mona, the working class girl, is so sexy and yet so vulnerable. She has no idea she's a beauty, or that she's stronger and more creative than the people around her. She thinks that being sophisticated means smoking and drinking and acting bored all the time. So when she meets Tamsin she is instantly captivated!

Tamsin is spoiled and rich, used to being adored. When the rough, but very sexy young working girl looks up at her with innocent admiration, cruel and shallow Tamsin thinks it might be amusing just to get her going for a bit. But pleasure soon leads to passion, out of control.

Both girls in this movie are superb, wonderful actresses. Mona could seem dim, but we get how smart she could be if she just woke up to the phony side of Tamsin. Tamsin could seem evil, but we get how lies and make believe are the only way she can get attention.

It's a lovely film, with only a couple of tiny flaws. I thought it was too easy for Mona's "boyfriend" to be just a selfish, fat lout. It's the kind of thing you always see in lesbian films, like the girl needs an "excuse" to find love with another woman. Why need an excuse? Also, I would have liked just a bit more on Tamsin's family -- do they know what she really is? Do they care? Just a hint or something at the end.

My theory about why American audiences didn't like this movie is about culture, but not just that Americans are dumb. Americans, when they watch "British" movies, expect to see dukes and duchesses, aristocrats, Jane Austen elegance. Just a couple of teens smoking and drinking doesn't look "British" to us.

You can't say Americans don't "like" British movies, but if you look at GOSFORD PARK and compare it to MY SUMMER OF LOVE you can see what I mean. I hated GOSFORD PARK, thought it was paper thin and sentimental, but it gave Americans the England they want -- aristocrats, servants, luxury, scandal.

See what I mean?