By Actor and comedian Simon Bird makes his directorial debut with a coming of age comedy portraying a piece of sleepy British suburbia during one quiet summer. Going down the coming of age route has been fruitful ground for many directorial debuts, most recently the likes of Lady Bird and Boomskart come to mind. It makes sense, they’re stories that offer many a way for both filmmakers and audiences to connect through a sense of shared experience. This particular tale based on a graphic novel by Joff Winterhart is not a particularly distinctive tale, but it is a sweet one nonetheless.
The film follows timid Sue Bagnold (Monica Dolan) and her heavy metal loving teenage son Daniel (Earl Cave). When Daniel’s planned summer trip to visit his estranged father in Florida gets cancelled, Sue and Daniel find themselves having to spend the summer together. As the long six weeks unfurl, their disconnected dynamic and petty bickering soon begins to fall away as they both look to find ways to improve their lives and their relationship with each other.
Full review at VultureHound, published June 3rd 2020.
Andrew Gaudion 