Summerland Review

I’ve come to expect very little from films set on the isles of Britain in its patriotic period of keeping calm and carrying on. They’re rarely that entertaining, and feel more like they should be deposited onto BBC Two on a lazy Sunday evening. Their Finest reminded me wholly of that, a separate Gemma Arterton-led movie from only a few years ago. Finding her niche in stories set at a time of war, Summerland is her latest offering, a film that attempts to depict the evacuation process during the height of the Second World War, but also mix in some romantic angles, witchcraft, and the many adjustments and horrors those in war had to carry themselves through.

With such a talented cast on display, we can at least be assured of some competent performances. Arterton is very likeable in her leading role as reclusive writer and potential conjurer of dark arts, Alice. Suddenly finding herself looking after evacuee, Frank (Lucas Bond) a shy but intuitive boy. They slowly bond with one another, with initially stifled dismay from Alice setting the scene nicely. That underlying hatred for looking after another person never goes away, and much of the running time is taken up by Alice’s schemes and plans to get rid of Frank, shovelling him away to a different family as fast as she can. We’re treated to a few flashback sequences in this time also, without any particular rhyme or reason, to a former romantic relationship Alice had with Vera (Gugu Mbatha-Raw). We’re told a great deal of information through only a handful of flashback sequences, and they do stifle the pacing a bit, but they’re more or less necessary to the fallout of the film.

Some better pacing would be nice though, as outside of these flashbacks we follow a rather predictable pattern. The push and shove chemistry between Arterton and Bond is represented fairly well, not so much re-inventing anything or innovating, but providing two solid actors with leading performances they can coast through on talent alone. A few plot points in the later parts of the film are wholly confusing, though, not in their context, but in why they were included. It all plays into a final half-hour that is beyond rushed, and had it not been for a strong first half, Summerland would have fallen to pieces entirely.

Summerland is a wholly charming piece, on that thrives on its period piece setting and its likeable cast. It’s fluffy, nice, and a far stretch greater than most of the other offerings currently. A horribly rushed ending deflates Summerland far more than I had expected, but the preceding hour of entertainment is wholly enjoyable and rather likeable in that lazy, commonplace style. It’s not pushing the boat out or trying to be an incredible product, it knows its limitations and toes the line far better than I’d first expected it to. A completely comfortable film, one that won’t tax the mind too much, and sometimes we all need a film like that.