Summerland

Last night I got to do something that I have not been able to do for over four months:  see a new release on the big screen!  My local Megaplex has been screening classic movies for about a month (I have seen Singin' in the Rain, Now You See Me, Jurassic Park, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King, The Greatest Showman, The Force Awakens, Downton Abbey, The Empire Strikes Back, The Phantom of the Opera, Bohemian Rhapsody, Braveheart, Beauty and the Beast, The Karate Kid, and The Fugitive) and that has been a lot of fun but I have really missed the anticipation of seeing something new.  I was thrilled to be able to see Summerland last night and I absolutely loved it!  During World War II Alice Lamb (Gemma Arterton), a misanthropic writer living alone in a small village in Kent, has a young evacuee from London sent to live with her against her will.  At first she hardly interacts with Frank (Lucas Bond) but he is so endearing that she eventually opens up to him about an ill-fated romance with a woman named Vera (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) during her university days.  Ultimately, she must face her past so she can help him deal with his own loss.  The happy ending (something I think we all need right now) is a bit predictable but there are a few twists and turns along the way which make it more compelling than you might be expecting.  It is a lovely movie about the power of friendship with luminous performances from Arterton and Mbatha-Raw.  Bond is adorable and I also loved the supporting performances of Tom Courtenay and Sian Phillips as disapproving villagers, Amanda Root as a child welfare officer, and Penelope Wilton as an older Alice.  Every frame in this movie is simply stunning with sweeping views of the sea and the white cliffs of Dover (I might be mistaken but I am pretty sure that Alice's cottage is the same one used in the movie Atonement).  This reminded me of the character-driven independent films that I used to enjoy seeing at the Broadway on a Sunday afternoon.  It made me feel a bit more normal in this uncertain time and, for that, I highly recommend this movie if you have the chance to see it!