My Summer of Love

The most dangerous thing to want is more.

Two young women find love under difficult circumstances in this distinctive drama. Mona (Natalie Press) is a 16-year-old girl living in a small mining town in Yorkshire. There has never been much to do the neighborhood, and there's even less going on now that her older brother, Phil (Paddy Considine), who runs the local pub, has become a rabid born-again Christian and is turning the tavern into a hall for prayer meetings. Tasmin (Emily Blunt) is another teenage girl who lives nearby; her mother is a successful actress who is usually away on projects, and her businessman father is too busy with his mistress to pay his daughter much attention. When Mona and Tasmin meet, they don't quite hit it off, as Mona working-class attitude doesn't quite mesh with Tasmin's more refined and educated veneer. But with few other people their age to hang out with, Mona and Tasmin become friends, and with time their friendship grows into something more intimate. However, Mona and Tasmin discover it's not easy to keep their budding romance a secret in such a small town, and when Phil finds out about his sister's Sapphic leanings, he is certain Tasmin is possessed of evil spirits which could hurt Mona. My Summer of Love was enthusiastically received in its premiere screenings at the 2004 Edinburgh Film Festival. — Mark Deming