It has always been a challenge to find a thoughtful lesbian film that is not just a coming out story. Ditto that for all queer cinema, yet there are even fewer quality lesbian films than gay films. Think about the Hollywood gay films— Brokeback Mountain, Milk, Capote, and maybe a handful of others that have garnered some attention. For lesbians there is… The Kids are All Right. That’s all that comes to mind.
Often when a queer film features religion, there is a strong sense of opposition and an ironic moment when someone realizes that that their religion has been preventing them from being on the right side of morality. Although My Summer of Love threatens to go that route, it’s refreshing that any realizations from the religious camp are met equally with realizations from the queer camp, and that there is not quite a diametric opposition in goals and judgments.
Re-Watchability: This film offers drama, passion, musicality, beauty, and insight. It might be worth watching more than once. Where to Find It: Netflix, Facets Multimedia, and Specialty Video.
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The lesbian couple Tamsin (Blunt) and Mona (Press) are thrown together immediately, the former a bored rich girl home from boarding school and the latter a working class girl living in a saloon with her brother. We first see her brother Phil pouring out all the liquor in their establishment, a testament to his born-again status that seems a penance to his life before prison. Just as Phil’s transformation would be How about this… have you heard of The Devil seen by many as an attempt to hide from the real Wears Prada? Yes, I know it’s not queer cinema, work of facing his sordid past and his uncertain but I realized the other day that this lesbian future, the fevered romance that strikes up movie I had been eyeing for some time stars between the class-clashing young women strikes who I would consider to an escapist note. Their be the breakout actor in affair is not a reaction to What stands out most that love-it-or-hate-it film intolerance from anyone. In in comparison to usual about stilettos and ambition: fact, intolerance barely plays Emily Blunt. Yet her first a role in the film, especially queer cinema is a script real role was actually this as the catalyst for dramatic much of it unwritten little lesbian flick called action. Rather, it is the My Summer of Love. And conflict between Tamsin and before shooting began I’d say there’s a lot more Phil—two people who lie to and improvised by substance there than in her themselves and others about role opposite Meryl Streep their drinking, their beliefs, the actors - that is not in Prada. and their sexuality—that overbearing or preachy. create the most tension. To begin with, in My Summer of Love Blunt and Mostly, Mona is along for her co-star Natalie Press the ride, no matter who is shine in their subtle yet complex roles. Their doing the driving. She comes across as a simple chemistry on-screen is breathtaking, rivaled only working class girl who seems to only own one by the timeless cinematography and powerful outfit of pink terrycloth, but she is entirely selfsoundtrack penned by Goldfrapp. What stands aware of her economic situation and the dreary, out most in comparison to usual queer cinema hard-working life that probably lies ahead of her. is a script—much of it unwritten before shooting She comes to realize that being with Tamsin (or began and improvised by the actors—that is not becoming her) will not erase the difficulty of life, overbearing or preachy. Which is funny because just as her brother realizes that faithless worship there is a lot about religion in the film. will not expunge his guilt or loneliness.