Parents' Guide to

My Summer of Love

By Cynthia Fuchs, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Coming-of-age tale has teen sex, drugs, and language.

Movie R 2005 86 minutes
My Summer of Love Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 12+

Based on 1 parent review

Camillaandherkids
Camillaandherkids Parent of 8, 11 and 16-year-old
June 11, 2009
age 12+

kinda innapropriate

My sixteen year old daughter saw it and said "whoa"!
See all 1 parent review

What's the Story?

In MY SUMMER OF LOVE, Mona (Natalie Press) is feeling confined by the Yorkshire village where she's lived all her life. Everything changes when she meets lovely, upper-class Tamsin (Emily Blunt). The girls hit it off and, as Tamsin's parents are away, they begin to spend their days in the family's luxurious grand mansion and grounds. Working-class Mona enjoys the fineries, but her brother, Phil (Paddy Considine) -- just released from prison -- worries that she's away from home, and his newfound religious interests strain the siblings' relationship. The girls' romance builds slowly. They share secrets, as when Tamsin recalls her dead sister's struggle with anorexia and takes up Mona's defense over her ex-lover, a married man (Dean Andrews), with whom she shared clandestine, joyless, backseat sex before her dumped her. Eventually, Phil's efforts to control Mona drive her to make a choice between her known past and the unknowable Tamsin.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1 ):
Kids say (1 ):

An intricate study of high school-age rebellion and yearning, My Summer of Love makes a familiar plot seem new. In part this is because it takes the view of young Mona, superbly portrayed by Natalie Press. The girls' budding romance evolves in an alternately fluid and jaunty process as they explore one another and their own feelings, partly a function of cinematographer Ryszard Lenczewski's adept handheld camerawork, and partly of Pawlikowski's experience as a documentary maker.

Each member of this threesome is obsessive in his or her own way. When Phil literally locks Mona in her bedroom in an effort to "save" her, she begins drawing Tamsin's portrait on her wall. This image -- colored chalk on the roughhewn surface -- showcases Tamsin's eye as Mona perceives and needs it, a means to see herself reflected.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the relationship between orphaned Mona and her brother. How might they alleviate tensions by discussing their differences? Is her hope that he'll be "like he was" before prison both unrealistic and understandable? How? And how does she see his efforts to protect her as efforts to control her?

  • How does the film show problems caused by deceit -- between siblings, friends, and lovers? How does Mona's yearning for escape lead her to believe promises that can't be true?

  • How does this compare to other coming-of-age movies you've seen?

Movie Details

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