Summerland Movie Review

『A Journey of Souls Seeking Peace Beyond Love and Loss』

🎥 Movie Overview

🎬 Title: Summerland (2020)
🌍 Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
🎞️ Genre: Drama / Romance / Historical
⏳ Runtime: 101 minutes
📢 Director: Jessica Swale
🖋️ Writer: Jessica Swale
📺 Platform: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video (varies by region)

👩‍💼 Cast: Gemma Arterton – Alice Lamb
Gugu Mbatha-Raw – Vera (young)
Lucas Bond – Frank
Penelope Wilton – Alice (elderly)

🧩 Story Deep Dive (Spoilers)

☀️ Solitude, Myth, and Rediscovered Love

The film centers on Alice Lamb, a writer living in seclusion in a remote coastal home in 1940s England, devoted to studying myths and folklore. Her peculiar and solitary life — so much so that the townspeople suspect her of being a "witch" — is upended when a boy evacuee from London, Frank, suddenly arrives.

The film’s unique structure interweaves the 1940s present with 1920s flashbacks of Alice’s love for the woman Vera, and 1970s framing sequences, exploring the depth of Alice’s inner world and the weight of loss.

🌊 Walls of Loss and Solitude: Alice’s Peculiarity

Early in the film, Alice rejects connections with others entirely. Her gruff and rude behavior is a defensive shield concealing deep loneliness and pain stemming from the loss of Vera and society’s expectations. Frank’s arrival is perceived as an intrusion that threatens this carefully maintained barrier.

• Escape through Study: Alice’s obsession with Summerland (a pagan concept of heaven or afterlife) and her scientific investigations into Fata Morgana (mirages) symbolize her mental refuge from the harsh realities of war and personal loss.

👩‍💼 Frank as a Savior: Forming a 'Chosen Family'

Alice’s gradual acceptance of Frank is portrayed convincingly.

• Intellectual Bond: Frank does not flinch at Alice’s peculiarities and shows genuine interest in her mythological research. This intellectual connection becomes the first link reconnecting Alice to human connection.
• Mutual Healing: Alice empathizes with Frank’s potential future losses, reflecting her own past losses, and experiences a protective, maternal-like instinct toward him. Frank, in turn, opens Alice’s closed heart and helps her rediscover the value of care and love. This emphasizes the concept of a “found family” beyond blood ties.

👩‍❤️‍👩 Forbidden Love and Women’s Narratives: Romance with Vera

The film’s most progressive element is its handling of Alice and Vera’s lesbian romance.

• Depth of Loss: The heartbreak from Vera’s departure is emphasized as the root cause of Alice’s gruffness and isolation, making her emotional recovery through Frank and eventual acceptance of love more compelling.

• Flashbacks to the 1920s reveal that the separation was not primarily due to social pressure or persecution, but rather Vera’s maternal desire and personal choices, highlighting that love’s challenges often stem from individual circumstances.

👪 The Ultimate Twist in Relationships: Fate and Salvation

The dramatic revelation regarding the relationship between Frank and Vera in the film’s latter part elevates this romance from a simple historical narrative to a destined story of salvation.

• Redefining Loss: The fact that Vera and Frank are mother and son confirms that Alice’s painful separation was Vera’s desperate choice for greater happiness. By caring for Frank, Alice unknowingly protects the most precious part of Vera she once loved.
• Reconciliation and Reunion: The 1970s framing sequences and final reunion symbolize the reconstruction of the lost Summerland. Through Frank, Alice overcomes her fear of loss and finally reconciles with Vera, achieving a peaceful conclusion. Though Vera caused Alice pain through their separation, she paradoxically provides a vehicle for Alice’s healing through her son.

💛 Love Exists in Many Forms

The romance between Alice and Vera conveys that love does not need to exist solely in one form (romantic partnership). Vera desired both maternal love and romantic love for Alice, and ultimately, they each followed their own path. Alice experiences solitude due to Vera’s absence, yet she overcomes loss by nurturing the fruit of that love — Frank.

This story illustrates the collision and miraculous connection of sexual love, maternal love, friendship, and familial love, completing Summerland as a warm and emotionally healing film.

🎯 Personal Rating

💕 Love Scene Intensity: ♥♥♥
⭐ Rating: ★★★★☆