 |
| As Alice (Gemma Arterton) grows more tolerant of Frank's (Lucas Bond) presence, she becomes willing to share her interest in the fascinating atmospheric phenomenon known as Fata Morgana mirages. |
Writer/director Jessica Swale’s engaging and clever scripted Summerland — available via Amazon Prime and other streaming platforms — focuses on this era through the lens of yet another fresh perspective. Her film is fueled by a richly nuanced performance from star Gemma Arterton, who — in turn — is surrounded by a talented ensemble cast that brings this drama to vibrant life.
The setting is a tiny community nestled along the seaside cliffs of Southern England’s Kent district; the story’s catalyst is “Operation Pied Piper,” the mass evacuations designed to keep children safe in outlying rural locations during the Blitz, while their parents remained behind in cities across Britain.
Alice Lamb (Arterton) is a reclusive researcher/writer who lives in a quaint home overlooking the ocean. She’s constantly tormented by local children: in part because they always get such a furious rise out of her; and also because much of the community suspects she might be a “Nazi spy.” (Not really. But tongues do wag…)
Her isolation is rudely interrupted when she’s assigned a young boy — Lucas Bond, as Frank — who arrives in the newest wave of displaced children. Alice is furious, wanting no part of such an intrusion; the townsfolk — led by genial school headmaster Mr. Sullivan (the quietly excellent Tom Courtenay) — are equally firm. She must do her part.
Fine, she replies waspishly, but only for one week: until you can find him another home.
We cringe during these early scenes, because Alice doesn’t even try to conceal her disgust over the situation in general, and poor Frank in particular; she couldn’t care less if his feelings get bruised. But — intriguingly — he’s a remarkably resilient boy, and he accepts her hostility with equanimity (although Bond ensures that we see the distress in his gaze, when Alice isn’t looking).
