Glasgow Film Festival 2024: ‘Edge of Summer’ Review
Stars: Nichola Burley, Josie Walker, Flora Hylton, Joel Sefton-Iongi | Written and Directed by Lucy Cohen
A girl makes friends with a local boy while on holiday in rural Cornwall. Looking for an escape from her mum and her new boyfriend, the young girl looks to seek solace wherever she can find it. When the boy takes her down to an abandoned tin mine, what they uncover there leads to trouble above ground.
The undeniable positive of a film festival — particularly a regional one — is discovering a title or two that would never have had their dues if it wasn’t for a circuit break. Whether it’s an unconscious bias or a gravitational pull, the British independent film has a certain appeal regardless of its quality or subject matter, almost as if the mere fact it fits the category indicates its greatness. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Lucy Cohen’s Edge of Summer, a family drama turns psychological thriller that doesn’t go much of anywhere.
In a nutshell, this is because Edge of Summer isn’t working for its audience’s attention at any point during its 98-minute runtime. There’s no reward for the payoff, there’s no satisfaction lying in its closing moments. Instead, the movie chooses to rest on the laurels of its idyllic setting, letting natural beauty do the heavy lifting. Anyone who has ventured to the South West of England — or at least dreamed about it on Pinterest — knows the magic that the countryside holds, the very particular charm that draws endless crowds from all corners of the world. When other components are so sparse, it makes sense to draw viewers into something pre-existing that knows its own strength, yet it’s to the overall outcome’s detriment.
Once the location is stripped away, Edge of Summer is a far cry from hitting the notes it needs to. Evie’s (Flora Hylton) family dynamic is easily what’s the most interesting here, with mother Yvonne (Josie Walker) ranging from skulky teenager to overwhelmingly venomous as she teeters into the world of dating after marriage. Yet instead, Evie’s time is preoccupied with Adam (Joel Sefton-Iongi), a young boy she has no chemistry with yet completely convinces her that something is lurking beneath the ground. Awkwardly bumbling their way towards some kind of resolution, the film is suitably geared towards the tease, never providing viewers with a confident answer to any of the questions that it decides to ask.
Making the jump from documentary to fiction is a creative endeavour to be applauded, but in this case, Edge of Summer doesn’t quite hit the mark. Shying away from its strengths in lieu or pursuing a series of dead ends, emotional heartstrings aren’t pulled on, put gently tugged before they mould back into place.
** 2/5
Edge of Summer screened as part of this year’s Glasgow Film Festival.
