The Summer Book – Film Review
by Fran Winston

Directed by: Charlie McDowell
Starring Glenn Close, Emily Matthews
In cinemas August 7

Eight-time Oscar nominee Glenn Close heads the small cast in this adaptation of Tove Jansson’s beloved 1972 novel. The chameleon-like star disappears into the role of a tough, cantankerous grandmother in her eighties. Following the death of her daughter-in-law, her son (played by Anders Danielsen Lie) and six-year-old granddaughter Sophia (Emily Matthews, in her first-ever role) join her at her summer cottage on a tiny, idyllic island in the Gulf of Finland, where they navigate the new void in their lives.

As the summer unfolds, her son remains emotionally distant, consumed by grief and work, leaving grandmother and granddaughter to forge an unexpectedly deep bond as they explore the island together. Through their adventures, they confront life’s inevitable cycles of ageing, loss and renewal. That’s the story in a nutshell, making for a film as gentle and understated as it sounds. Although it deals with the heavy themes of bereavement and grief, it never feels weighted by its subject matter.

Close is always reliable, and this is no exception. She gives a remarkable performance as the chain-smoking, worldly-wise grandmother.
However, it is Emily Matthews in the role of Sophia who truly stands out here. This is the youngster’s first ever acting role, although her performance belies that.

She manages to bring a gravitas and characterisation to the role which you don’t usually get from a child actor, and she more than holds her own with Close.

The breathtaking island becomes a character in its own right. It can feel warm and inviting one moment, then cold and forbidding the next, its isolation mirroring the emotional landscape of a family learning to live with loss.

This work is reminiscent of old school family films such as Heidi or The Secret Garden. It manages to have a profound impact while appearing to not do very much.

It is the sort of movie you need to sit with for a while after viewing to fully appreciate. It is quite meditative, and it makes you slow down for a while as you absorb it.

Beautiful, thoughtful and quietly affecting, The Summer Book is the kind of film that lingers long after the credits roll. Amid a summer dominated by blockbuster spectacles, it deserves to find an audience of its own and has all the makings of a sleeper classic.