Best movie of this year hands down!

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

The first must-see film of the year.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

How can such an amateurish, plot less movie with poor acting even receive such a high rating? I just don't get it. First of all there is zero chemistry between the two main characters. At least a minimum of that would be fair to expect now that they are supposed to not just become friends - despite of two totally different personalities - but a romantic couple. Like in the movie Adele there is absolutely no explanation as to how they become attracted to each other - they are just suddenly making love, from one frame to the next. The whole build-up is skipped. And apart from that there are just way too many plot holes and unrealistic scenes. E.g. Mona goes on a trip with her new friend without knowing where they are going - yet she did bring a bikini for their swim! How was that possible? Is she a fortune-teller? Also her friend brought a bikini - even though it seems unplanned that they went for that swim. As there were nobody else around, and they did not plan the swim - they would have done it in the nude, and voila - there you would have the missing build-up. Instead we get a quick, fully-bikini-clothed kiss. That's all. Heterosexual girls also kiss, thus this is nowhere near any lesbian approach. And what made her brother turn Christian? Nobody knows. Yes, he explains how he saw the light etc. but the individual, life-turning event that triggered his sudden clergy is just added to the way too many unanswered questions. The whole movie seems plot less, just moving from one pathetic, boring, silly, unrealistic scene to the next. The shortfalls are so many and so obvious that the unusually high rating of this movie - even from critics - is just incredible.

As vividly, as well as fatally, as opposites attract in real life, so My Summer Of Love presents us with a choice of wildly colourful opposites to be drawn to: Tamsen, a bored, privileged, pathological liar out for kicks, ultimately at the devastating expense of her new lover Mona, herself newly spurned by a local much-too-old schlub. One can identify with Mona's plight, that of an orphaned teen on a motor-less bike in a bleak working class hub of town, with absolutely no prospects. Or one can identify with Tamsen, left alone in her family's enormous home for an entire summer, only capable of experiencing passion from behind a facade of elaborate lies. You just know after Tamsen's shattering deception of Mona that neither will ever be the same again. You are left to wonder how embittered Mona will now grow, having now been so cruelly lead on by by members of both sexes, the latter whom she grows to love deeply. You are equally left to wonder how Mona's reaction to Tamsen's summer-long deceits might penetrate the latter.Ultimately one might be equally drawn to facets of both characters, as they collectively represent the harder coming-into-awareness lessons we all learn: sooner or later we're all spurned, sooner or later we all protect our vulnerability behind lies, sooner or later love fades no matter how elaborate or widespread the pursuit. The hardest lesson, as starkly depicted in My Summer Of Love's final moments, is how love is perhaps more an experience unique to the individual than something shared. Tamsen seems to have instinctively known this all along, cynically protecting herself through her building and inhabiting a fantasy world; Mona turns out to be her plaything, a plaything who believes her beloved Tamsen, literally on a white horse, is nothing less than her savior and ticket out of bleak working-class nowheres-ville. Tamsen is master of the set-up, Mona truly loves. Her allegiance to Tamsen is a currency equal parts genuine, desperate, hopeless. When the smoke clears and Tamsen is left to return to school and Mona to her dead-end town, who has had the greater love, rich shielded Tamsen, or poor vulnerable Mona?

My Summer of Love is comparable to Peter Jackson's Heavenly Creatures in some ways. Both movies are about two unhappy, bored teenage girls (played here by Emily Blunt and Natalie Press) from wildly different backgrounds who meet and quickly form an intense bond because of their sense of humor and intelligence, and their lack of similarity to those around them.And also like Heavenly Creatures, the threat of the two girls being separated spurs some rather dark consequences for several people. I liked My Summer of Love, but it was a fair distance from perfect. The camera work was needlessly busy and distracting, and it took me the majority of the movie to get used to it. And it's a little slow at times. It also seemed like the story was a little muddled. Ambiguous or open-ended stories are fine, but Summer of Love veered towards frustration once or twice.The best parts of the movie were Emily Blunt, Natalie Press, and Paddy Considine. They're really the only main characters, and each of them does an excellent job portraying flawed people.

"My Summer of Love" is essentially a film about – true to the film's title – a summer romance shared between two girls from vastly different backgrounds. While the two characters are female, this film doesn't deal with issues of sexuality, coming out, homophobia, etc. – it's merely a romance between two young people connecting, period. (Therefore those that are cautious about watching a film dealing with homosexuality shouldn't be weary, as this film can appeal to those of all genders despite sexual preference, and not exclusively lesbians.)As you can guess by my rating, I immensely enjoyed My Summer of Love. The atmosphere, music, and cinematography are dreamy, lush, and capture the mood quite perfectly – reminding me of something from a Sofia Coppola film (who I think is a director who certainly knows how to capture beauty on screen). Nathalie Press and Emily Blunt give fantastic performances as the two leads and also share equally undeniably great chemistry. Of course the story is excellent, and the ending – without revealing any spoilers – is satisfying (though this is arguable) but surely leaves you thinking, which in my opinion, is what a great film does – leaves the audience something to think about and discuss.Although I thought the pacing to be very good, I understand that some might find it "slow". Regardless, the story and characters are timeless, so I feel that despite the generation you come from, you'll certainly feel nostalgic and will have no trouble relating to this films' young characters. 10 stars. Great film.