My Summer of Love (Imprint) Blu-ray Review

Emily Blunt’s Beguiling Debut

Academy Award-winning Polish director Pawel Pawlikowski (Last Resort) crafts a remarkable and passionate psychological drama around two young English girls in his haunting My Summer of Love. Starring Emily Blunt, Natalie Press and Paddy Considine, a naive teenager is drawn into the turbulent orbit of a pampered but lonely rich girl.

The 2005 BAFTA Award winner for Best British Film is more well known today for being Emily Blunt’s first leading theatrical role after her early work in television. Even at this young age it’s clear the future Hollywood leading lady has major star power, wringing vitality and emotion from the trite role of a spoiled rich girl left to her own devices one summer by her oblivious family. She’s worth the price of admission all by herself in My Summer of Love.

My Summer of Love takes the intense bond between two young women into darker territory

Local school girl Mona (Natalie Press) is turned off by her older brother Phil’s sudden conversion to Christianity, stuck dreaming of a better life. The owner of a local pub, Phil (Paddy Considine) has cared for Mona after their parents passed away. Feeling isolated and alone, the naive Mona yearns for a deeper connection with someone and finds it over the summer with Tamsin (Emily Blunt).

Residing in an opulent English estate on summer vacation away from her regular prep school, Tamsin comes from a wealthy and educated family. Mona believes she’s found a kindred spirit in Tamsin despite the class differences. Their fluid friendship blossoms into something more as Mona falls for Tamsin’s intoxicating charm.

Taking a page from the disturbing but invigorating Heavenly Creatures, My Summer of Love takes the intense bond between two young women into darker territory. Exploring the often heady and reckless emotions of adolescent love, the film delves into a potent mix of sweet romanticism laced with unintended and dangerous consequences. Each girl, broken in their own way, find hope and solace in each other despite the vast differences in their backgrounds.

The tranquil, almost leisurely, storytelling is packed with intricate character development.  My Summer of Love’s two teenage stars give fruitful performances well beyond their years, sharing remarkable chemistry. Pawlikowski crafts an interesting and often surprising film which was originally based on a Helen Cross novel.

What separates My Summer of Love from any number of young love stories is its startling turn into deception and conflict. Romance is merely the prologue for a stunning turn of events which give it an electric and surprising end.

Video

The romantic movie’s soft, often hazy cinematography makes its Blu-ray debut in a serviceable 1.85:1 presentation struck from a 4K scan. Imprint likely licensed My Summer of Love’s HD transfer directly from Universal’s vaults. No one will confuse the lackluster 1080p video for videophile fare but it definitely improves upon earlier DVD versions.

Despite the filmmaker’s credentials and the BBC connection, there’s an unpolished indie feel to the fairly pedestrian picture quality. The film elements for the 2004 production are in solid shape with no obvious damage.

The main feature runs a full 86 minutes on a BD-50, encoded in stout AVC with excellent transparency and decent grain reproduction. Almost certainly derived from a transfer free of unnecessary processing, it’s a simple job with average definition and fine clarity. Fine detail is on the soft side, lacking the tack-sharp clarity of newer films.

Imprint’s 1080p presentation neatly and cleanly represents a small British film from the early 2000s, made in the days before digital grading became common across Hollywood. Colors are well saturated, if falling short of the rich and deep label. The contrast and black levels are consistently fine with no major exceptions. Flesh-tones are accurately and often coldly rendered.

If you want My Summer of Love in its best possible video quality, Imprint’s BD is your best bet.

Audio

My Summer of Love boasts a groovy soundtrack, an eclectic array of tunes from French singer Édith Piaf and a gentle musical score from electronic duo Goldfrapp. The discrete surround mix is heard in pristine 5.1 DTS-HD MA with clean dynamics and intelligible dialogue. There isn’t much action but the rears play a subtle role in gently expanding the soundstage.

Optional English SDH subtitles play in a white font. Secondary 2.0 Stereo PCM audio is an option.

Extras

Physical media fans need to promptly thank Imprint by supporting their releases. Unheralded movies like My Summer of Love would never get a Blu-ray without Imprint around. The early Emily Blunt film receives its first Blu-ray edition, number 229 in the Imprint Collection. The disc is coded for all regions and arrives in a limited edition slipcase.

Imprint gathers all existing supplemental material available for the Universal movie, nicely collecting the archival extras found on various DVD releases across the globe. There’s nothing substantially new here but this collector’s edition brings over the director’s commentary from Universal’s DVD.

Audio Commentary with Director Pawel Pawlikowski – The Polish director isn’t a gripping listen but he competently discusses the loose improvisation between the cast and reveals how the film was put together.

Deleted Scenes (03:46 in SD)

B-roll Footage (07:21 in HD)

Paddy Considine Interview (03:28 in HD)

Natalie Press Interview (04:54 in HD)

Emily Blunt Interview (05:34 in HD)

Pawel Pawlikowski Interview (07:07 in HD)

My Summer of Love Theatrical Trailer (02:00 in SD)

Full disclosure: This Blu-ray was provided by the label for review. This has not materially affected DoBlu’s editorial process. For information on how we handle all review material, please visit DoBlu’s about us page.

The following six screen shots serve as samples for our subscription-exclusive set of 39 full resolution, uncompressed HD screen shots ripped directly from the Blu-ray: