The Summer Book (PG)
Directed by Charlie McDowell
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZfIALnLZnI 

PRAISED for its humour, honesty and simple language, The Summer Book was the first novel for adults by Tove Jansson, author of the Moomin stories. Charlie McDowell’s ambitious adaptation seeks to emulate the book’s clarity of expression and thematic richness. 

The film begins with three people – separate generations of the same family – landing for a summer break on an isolated but picturesque island in the Gulf of Finland.

Newcomer Emily Matthews captures the exuberance and vulnerability of Sophia, a young girl overwhelmed with anxiety and misplaced guilt at the death of her mother. Playing Father, Anders Danielsen Lie has scant dialogue but makes efficient use of gesture and expression to convey his struggle to comfort Sophia and shoulder his own burden of grief. Glenn Close is gloriously life-affirming as Grandmother, a complex bundle of frailty, resilience, keen perception and sharp-tongued compassion. These three central characters weave an intricate and striking emotional tapestry.

In transferring the story from page to screen Robert Jones has taken the courageous risk of ditching the novel’s episodic structure for a more freeform approach. An hour into the film, Sophia makes a heartfelt prayer: “Dear God, I’m bored as beef. Let something happen, like a storm or anything, Amen.”

When a storm comes, it brings an appreciation of the liberating impact of turbulent nature, rather than a real sense of jeopardy. Another set piece – in which Grandmother and Sophia spy on their bourgeois neighbours – is gently comedic.

Some viewers may feel Sophia’s “bored as beef” prayer provides a useful summary of a narrative full of charm but light in incident, tension and psychological dilemma. But McDowell appears less concerned with action and plot than providing fleeting insights into the pleasures and demands of establishing a modus vivendi with other people and the natural world. 

The cinematography, music and sound design augment the impact of the performances and do much of the heavy lifting in terms of mood, aesthetic and driving the narrative. Sturla Brandth Grovlen’s cinematography involves changes of perspective triggered by cutting from longshot to close-up; and painterly compositions of people, artefacts, flora, water and mountains. This sumptuous imagery is complimented by Hania Rani’s mysterious and minimalist score. In this respect I was reminded of the aesthetic stylings of Peter Greenaway. 

Charming, witty and beautifully shot, The Summer Book is a gentle and entertaining reflection on death, joy, spirituality, freedom, loss and living in nature.

In cinemas August 7