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Summerland

2020

Jessica Swale

Gemma Arterton, Lucas Bond, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Penelope Wilton ...

6.2

1,060

Drama A woman during the Second World War opens her heart to an evacuee after initially resolving to be rid of him.

	Media	Author	Review
		Rachel Labonte Screen Rant	"Between its familiar story and genuine performances, 'Summerland' is occasionally hindered by melodrama, but is overall a very sweet film (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"
		Jessica Kiang Variety	"Swale's nostalgic wartime drama is sweet but, except for an excellent Gemma Arterton, just a little too neat to fully believe in."
		Clarisse Loughrey The Independent	Summerland shows us how being robbed of self-expression – sexual or emotional – can feel like slow suffocation. But it’s too afraid of uncertainty (...) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"
		David Rooney The Hollywood Reporter	"For a story in which a potentially controversial mixed-race lesbian relationship plays a significant part, it's also surprisingly insipid."
		Pamela Hutchinson Empire	"Swale marks herself as a director to watch. Summerland successfully combines an intelligent feminist fable and a lesbian love story with a slick period tearjerker (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"
		Ignatiy Vishnevetsky AV Club	"Summerland is as pretty but one-dimensional as a postcard"
		Jake Cole Slant	"A film whose characters only seem to exist as vessels of pathos, exhibiting little life outside of their moments of tragedy and symbolic connection (...) Rating: ★½ (out of 4)"
		Leslie Felperin The Guardian	"Strong on lush cinematography, period knitwear and sincerity, but less effective in terms of historical plausibility (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"
		Kate Erbland IndieWire	"Swale’s intricate plotting obscures some of the film’s twists (...) but all credit to her direction and Arterton’s grounded performance for selling them and keeping them from slipping into pure soap."
		Peter Travers Rolling Stone	"A sweet, soft-centered pastoral drama that’s never as tough-minded as you want it to be (...) [It] promises way more than it delivers (...) Rating: ★★½ (out of 5)"
		Glenn Kenny rogerebert.com	"Gemma Arterton, Mbatha-Raw, and the child actors bring such commitment and integrity to their characterizations that one is inclined not just to hang in there but to root for them all (…) Rating: ★★½ (out of 4)"

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