Excellent but underrated film

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

A big-hearted social realism which is a strong meditative piece of work, showing flashbacks of two kids then turning into teens, living on the same estate and spending their days getting always into trouble. The story dips in and out of the past, suggesting the source of current woes. As a portrait of stasis brought on by poverty and a study of abandon gone sour in the face of zero opportunities, this is an extremely sensitive stuff, even though there's little that ends up surprising. This movie hasn't been successful at all, though having a decent cast and handling very interesting themes, however it certainly deserves a good rate.

Shaun and Daz have been friends since School. Now, in their adulthood, Daz is terminally ill and wheelchair bound. Shaun himself is unemployed and full of frustration and anger about his life. The movie works very well with the flashbacks to their youth when they were tearing around the local neighbourhood and, sometimes, getting into trouble. Shaun develops huge problems by not being able to cope with Dyslexia and the viewer sees his life falling apart. There is also a strong sense that society (and the authorities) are letting Shaun down. This social drama has many facets but it mainly draws on the perceptions that are out there about Dyslexia and its associated problems. The performances, both by Carlyle and Evets are outstanding, the photography sublime and the screenplay is as real as it gets. Highly underrated in my humble opinion.

From Scottish BAFTA winning director Kenneth Glenaan (Magnificent 7, The Good Samaritan), I didn't really know what to expect from this film, only relying on the four star rating and leading actor. Basically Shaun (Scottish BAFTA nominated Robert Carlyle) has been living with and looking after his friend Daz (Steve Evets, who I recognised from an episode of Casualty featured in Harry Hill's TV Burp) ever since his horrible accident owing to his crippling. It all happened in the summer time, and in a series of flashbacks, we see how young Shaun (Matthew Workman, Sean Kelly) and Daz (Christopher Russell, Joe Doherty, Jo Doherty) spent this time. There were happy times spent int he sunshine, and with their friend, well, Shaun's love interest as well, Katy (Bethan Davies, Joanna Tulej). But there were also bad times, like Shaun being labelled as a bully, and he managed to drag his bad luck along with Daz, and of course it all ended tragically with Daz losing his ability to walk. Shaun has to face his past as Daz is on death's door, and he is reunited with Katy (Rachael Blake) as well, but in the end, the death happens, and Shaun tries to see what his future will be like, and whether he can have a happy summer again. Caryle makes quite a good lead, and Evets has his small moments as the crippled friend, it is a subtle film, but with near enough interesting moments to keep you hooked, so a worthwhile drama. It won the Scottish BAFTA for Best Feature Film. Good!

Every once in a while a fabulous British independent film slips under the radar and is criminally missed by a ream of cinema goers. Summer is one such film. It's directed by Kenneth Glenaan, written by Hugh Ellis and stars Robert Carlyle, Rachael Blake and Steve Evets. Shaun (Robert Carlyle) and Daz (Steve Evets) were the rouge kids on the block, best friends forever, they were constantly getting into scrapes. Thoughts of education were the furthest thing from their minds. We find Shaun now in adulthood, and now caring for Daz who is crippled and suffering from terminal cirrhosis. From here the film is told through Shaun's eyes with flashbacks to better, vibrant times, in particular the one important summer where Shaun tries to come to terms with life, loves {Blake as the girlfriend Katy} and where fate stepped in to change things. It's through these flashbacks that we learn exactly why Shaun is so devoted to his dying pal. Structured in the way it is, basically set in three time periods of the protagonists life, Summer involves the viewers to the maximum with its characters. So much so that even with the hanging sense of doom in the air, the nagging question of why is this bond so strong makes for a fascinating, and emotionally potent, experience. The material and its central themes could quite easily been given the sledgehammer treatment by Glenaan, but he directs it in such a subtle way, the final result is all the more impacting. There's no soft soaping either, the plot is tough and realistic, these are real people reacting to real life issues. Something that is helped enormously by the first rate performances of Carlyle {one of his best ever performances} and Evets.Complementing the acting is Tony Slater-Ling's beautiful photography, particularly in the flashback scenes to the boys youth. The warm glow of the sun, the ripple of the water, the green and pleasant land, each serve as painful reminders to Shaun of his lost youth. Nostalgia is not thought of warmly, it is by definition here, a yearning that gnaws away at his soul. Hugh Ellis' screenplay also deserves plaudits, this may not be the easiest of viewings, since this is after all about wasted life and impending death. But there is always hope in the offering, and coupled with the odd flecks of gallows humour, Ellis has found the right balance for the story. It's downbeat of course, and you may feel like you have been thru the mangler come the end. But this really is excellent film making that tells a worthy and most endearing story. With Carlyle magnetic and real and Glenaan serving notice that he's a British director fit to sit alongside Meadows, Loach and Arnold. It's hoped that more people can find and let Summer into their lives. 9/10