Review of Summer in February (2013) by Pip D — 03 Jun 2013

"Downton Abbey" has a lot to answer for. It's undoubtedly a very good TV programme but its success seems to be resulting in a proliferation of books and films that are trying to exploit its popularity, not always successfully. Fay Weldon's recent novel "Habits of the House" was one example. The film "Summer in February" is another.

Set in Cornwall in the early 1900s, "Summer in February" is a period drama about a love triangle amongst a community of Edwardian painters. It's apparently adapted from a novel and is based on events that actually happened. Unfortunately, it's a very disappointing film. The acting is competent enough but there is so much that is simply below par. The dialogue creeks - one character utters the words: "He's not a cad, is he?" - and the opening half hour contains a certain amount of gratuitous female nudity. The soundtrack is intrusive and there is an abundance of (often inappropriate) soft focus camerawork. Little or nothing is left to the viewer's imagination. In one scene in which a character attempts suicide, she is shown drinking from a bottle that is labelled "Cyanide" and "Poison"!

"Summer in February" is a harmless enough film and a mildly diverting way of spending 100 or so minutes in a cinema. But it is essentially pointless, shallow and unmemorable. It might just have made the mark as a 90-minute Sunday afternoon TV drama but as a major feature film it simply does not cut the mustard. It's a real disappointment. 5/10.