Summer

SINOPSIS

After working up a sweat in adventure flicks like 28 Weeks Later and Flood (both 2007), Robert Carlyle slows the pace in this excellent contemplative drama. He says little as Shaun, a man haunted by the events of one summer in his misspent youth, but his frustration is palpable. It's an absorbing performance and Scottish director Kenneth Glenaan (whose film debut, Yasmin, won plaudits in 2004) takes us even deeper into Shaun's inner world with dreamy and evocative snapshots from the past. These clash with the bitter reality of Shaun's adult life, which is sacrificed in caring for his best pal Daz (Steve Evets), who is confined to a wheelchair for reasons that become poignantly clear. Their lifelong friendship has shaped him, but so has Shaun's first love (fearlessly portrayed by vampish newcomer Joanna Tulej). Some patience is required as fractured memories are pieced together, but it's definitely time well spent.