{"id":20966,"date":"2020-07-29T19:12:46","date_gmt":"2020-07-30T02:12:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=20966"},"modified":"2020-07-29T19:12:46","modified_gmt":"2020-07-30T02:12:46","slug":"summerland-is-sweet-and-features-fine-seaside-scenery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=20966","title":{"rendered":"SUMMERLAND is Sweet and Features Fine Seaside Scenery"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/24_0008_B-merged.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10620\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>This title from IFC Films will be available for streaming\nrentals on most platforms Friday, July 31<sup>st<\/sup>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the summer stretches on, more and more quirky little\nmovies are finding their ways to streaming platforms. This week, IFC Films is\nreleasing such another with <em>Summerland<\/em>, a sometimes syrupy but well-acted\nperiod drama from the UK. It most certainly won\u2019t rock the world, strains\ncredibility and doesn\u2019t even earn the tears it desperately wants to draw from viewers.\nYet the picture is still a scenic, pleasant and sweetly told tale of a woman\novercoming loss and finding love in the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Summerland-arterton-kid-cliffs-FIXED-1024x591.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20968\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The story takes place on coast of England at a scenic cottage\nin a seaside town. A temperamental writer named Alice Lamb (Penelope Wilton) types\naway and viewers witness her life during World War II. The flashbacks confirm\nthat the younger Alice (Gemma Arterton) was just as difficult and prickly, ostracized\nby the town\u2019s citizens while working on a thesis involving myth and legend.\nWhen the loner leans that she has been chosen to care for a boy named Frank (Lucas\nBond) whose parents are involved in the war effort, the lead refuses. However, as\ntime passes Alice begins to soften towards Frank and the two form a friendship.\nThe boy asks questions about her past, leading to further flashbacks detailing a\nfailed relationship with a student named Vera (Gugu Mbatha-Raw).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There\u2019s plenty of intrigue early on as viewers attempt to\nget a handle on why local children refer to Alice as the town witch (or as\nothers put it, the beast on the beach). And of course, the arrival of an\nunwanted visitor tests the patience this unlikely pair. Frank feels unwanted\nand lonely while Alice does her best to keep him at arm\u2019s length. There are a\ncouple of interesting conversations about the scholar\u2019s work about folklore and\nmyth and her efforts to identify and explain the scientific reasons for some of\nthe phenomenon reported by others. One significant local myth involves a Pagan\ncity believed to float in the clouds just off the coast. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Summerland-arterton-kid-bedroom-FIXED-1024x605.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20969\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The performances are all engaging and sensitively handled,\nfrom the youngster under Alice\u2019s care to the flashbacks of the writer falling\nin love, as well as her despair after Vera prioritizes another aspect of her\nlife over the relationship, which reinforces the lead\u2019s icy and brusque\npersonality. All of this is shot against the stunning beauty of what appear to\nbe the White Cliffs of Dover. Whether these characters are discussing their\nacademic theories, addressing issues haunting them characters like failed romances\nas well as potential loss, it\u2019s all shot against a lovely backdrop. The score\nis also memorable, adding to the atmosphere and helping to build some of the drama.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While there\u2019s definitely plenty of onscreen charm between\nall the characters, some of the story elements introduced late in the movie do feel\nlike a stretch. Attempts are made to explain how and why things occurred in a\nspecific manner, but they do seem contrived. While there are tragic elements in\nthe story, the plot wraps itself up in a very simple and almost convenient manner,\nthus avoiding any complexities between characters that would have otherwise had\nto have been addressed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Summerland-arterton-raw-party-FIXED-1024x625.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20970\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the end, the movie most assuredly isn\u2019t perfect. Still,\nthe performers are all appealing even if the screenplay feels comfortable tying\nevery loose end up in a picture-perfect manner. And the images in <em>Summerland<\/em>\nare pleasant enough overall to prove reasonably diverting spell for those in need\nof a pretty change of scenery. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This title from IFC Films will be available for streaming rentals on most platforms Friday, July 31st. As the summer stretches on, more and more quirky little movies are finding their ways to streaming platforms. This week, IFC Films is releasing such another with Summerland, a sometimes syrupy but well-acted period drama from the UK. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":20967,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[198,4549,6251,6985,8149,8712,9656,15899,15922,19319,19320,19321,19322,23469,24534],"class_list":["post-20966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-198","tag-coast","tag-drama","tag-england","tag-gemma-arterton","tag-gugu-mbatha-raw","tag-ifc-films","tag-penelope-wilton-lucas-bond","tag-period","tag-summerland","tag-summerland-film-review","tag-summerland-movie-review","tag-summerland-review","tag-uk","tag-wwii"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20966"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20966\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}