How sad is this?

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Sort of a mess. There is a lot right about this picture, but it's not enough to make up for a poor plot. The direction was OK, and the photography good. There were excellent acting performances all around. Connie Nielsen was awesome. Mia Kirshner was, too. These were good roles, these actresses got to really chew the scenery. Same goes for Anne Archer in a smaller part. Robert Culp and Frank Langella were sort of slumming, but were still good, as actors of their caliber should be. Even the French guy turned in a good one. But that isn't enough to make up for a terrible plot, depending on stunning coincidences. I found the ending highly anticlimactic, as well. Just can't recommend this one.

I just returned from a trip with my wife to Paris. Our friends there were raving about a movie called "Dark Summer". So much so that my wife insisted (She's a huge Connie Nielsen fan). I have to be honest my wife and I don't usually agree on our tastes in movies but the second this film started I was on the edge of my seat. The main star (Jean Hughes Anglade) was a French superstar from what i was told, but his portrayal of the cellist Huxley was sublime. The film opens up with him being interrogated by a detective portrayed by Keith David. (From Platoon, and Something About Mary, the guy is always great) After getting in a car accident he meets Connie Nielsen's character, a nurse named Megan who nurses him back to health. In appreciation, and of course a mutual attraction, he takes her up on dinner and to meet the family. Mia Kirschner played her crazy sister with frightening aplomb. At first the meal and their good times seems a given until he meets the father. (Played by the always- amazing Frank Langella!!) The father is sick and dyeing yet the power he still commanded over his daughters and the shocked Huxley was unmistakable. The father dies and in an incredibly erotic interlude, Huxley makes love to Megan the whole while the sister watches!!! I don't want to give away anymore but the cameos keep poring on and the twists and turns never stop. There are serial killers, country music and beautiful landscapes. The main reason I am writing this review was that after I saw this film I couldn't stop thinking about it. The whole time i was on the plane i kept talking about it and my wife told me about this website and I had to tell the world. I don't know where it is playing or if you can rent it but see this movie!!!

In a time when most movie plots are derivative and predictable it is nice to be surprised and kept guessing like the thriller "Dark Summer" starring Connie Nielsen. Writer, Director Gregory Marquette kept the pace unpredictable and breathless. Just when you think you know where this movie is going it changes tracks on you and you are caught in the whirlwind of mystery and intrigue. Co-stars Mia Kirshner and Jean Hugues Anglade are powerful and very convincing. It was also a lot of fun when the power cameos made their appearances. Robert Culp, a perennial favorite of mine is absolutely wicked as the disgraced Judge. Ann Archer, who I cannot recall ever taking a role like the one she portrayed in this film, is worthy for a Golden Globe as the alcoholic mother. Other Cameo's like Frank Langella and Keith David are too short to be a satisfying but I give this film a solid recommend for the viewers, like myself, who are tired of the same old formulaic plots of Hollywood's recycling factory.

It is so rare to find a film that makes you really think. Where dialogue and subtext combine to bring as much dynamic as physical action.After watching Gregory Marquette's "Dark Summer" I found myself brooding about what I had just scene and catching my breath at the same time. For a first time director I was really impressed by his command of the material he himself had written.Don't get me wrong the film had some problems but they were easily overlooked by the sensational cameos. Frank Langella gives a disturbing and memorable portrayal of the two heroine's dying father. I just wish there were more of him in the movie. The same follows with Keith David who I've been a huge fan of since "Platoon". Keith always delivers the goods and he bookends the film nicely as the cynical detective but again I wish there were more of him. Robert Culp gets the meatiest role as the Judge, I don't want to give anything away but get the kids out of the room when his scenes are up!!!!The three Main characters are hypnotizing. I looked up this Jean Hugh Anglade and this actor has an amazing bio in foreign films. I would expect to have seen more of him but I felt his acting was right on the money. Connie Nielsen from "Gladiator" is deliciously dangerous as well as her deranged sister played by Mia Kirschner.The whole cast was incredibly strong, the photography was stunning and the pace is breathless. Maybe a little too much so and the film could have been more balanced. One thing for sure it is a real stunner because you are never sure where it's going until the end.