The Summer House (1993) Reviews

• Charming Catalyst

  taita2000-12-27

  This story can take a bit of work in places, and needs your full attention, but it is worth it. There are scenes in Egypt that are not overly clear or explained but are responsible for the state of mind of the young bride in the story. Through an acute case of apathy, Margaret has become engaged to the boy next door (David Threlfall). He is not however every mothers dream for her daughter in fact even his own Mother (Joan Plowright) is less than enthused about him on occasion. The wedding is planned and guests start arriving in town. One of these is the exotic Lili (Jeanne Moreau), an old friend of the brides mother (Julie Walters). She spends her time prior to the wedding with Margaret and her mother and also reacquainting herself with the grooms mother (Joan Plowright). The latter objective having a little awkward history behind it. The relationship that develops between these two veteran actors is a delight to watch. I have not seen Joan Plowright in anything where I haven't enjoyed her performance. Lili has already decided that this wedding is a big mistake. Even the bride knows this. So steps should perhaps be taken to prevent it. The denouement brought about by Lili is magic, but then Lili is a most charming catalyst. It would be easy to like this story simply because of the resolution that Lili brings to the problem, it is indeed unforgettable. But the movie is more than that. The title refers to Nuns habits. Literally. The custom was to wear one have one in the wash and one in the wardrobe. This is how Lili discovers what sort of bride Margaret really wants to be. I found that I couldn't empathise with the bride in this story, how can you relate to someone who would allow themselves to marry the obnoxious Syl Munro (David Threlfall), but I revelled in the performance of Lili. Watch and Enjoy : Edit in 2016. This review was originally written in 2000. The meek bride in this story, Lena Heady, has since gone on to great things. She is now at the other spectrum as the manipulative and megalomaniac matriarch in Game of Thrones.

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• charming and surprising

  peg30072011-05-22

  This sleeper of a film has well-defined characters, acted to perfection by the likes of Joan Plowright, Julie Walters, David Threlfall, Lena Headey, and Jeanne Moreau. While not all of the characters are likable, they are believable, and very interesting. I feel like I know these people. Headey's Margaret is a sympathetic young woman who is about to trade in her dreams for a life she doesn't want, but feels incapable of escaping. Threfall's Syl is the smarmy momma's boy you love to hate. Moreau's Lili is a particular gem, playing an eccentric free spirit with an uncanny knack for seeing into other people's souls, like a worldly Mary Poppins who arrives on the scene to shake things up, and then (I imagine) move on to where she is needed next. This film has humor, warmth, and charm, and reminded me of such treasures as Enchanted April and Waking Ned Devine. The plot carries little surprises that pop up when you least expect them. The best surprise is at the end, and it has to be seen to be believed. I have recommended this film to several people, but it is so hard to find!

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• Marvelous veteran acting barely succeeds in overcoming annoyingly slow pacing and hard-to-follow segues

  herbqedi2002-04-28

  I rented this movie because of the promise of Julie Walters, Joan Plowright, and Jeanne Moreau co-starring in a comedy. And indeed, Moreau and Plowright are absolutely marvelous. Walters does better than the script deserved with the thankless role of the bride's cheerful-but-none-too-bright mother. The plot moves at a snail's pace, and Moreau telegraphs her role in the movie's delicious conclusion in the film's first 30 minutes. If this sign of things to come was to prevent us from turning off the movie in utter boredom during its first half it succeeded. When the always magnificent John Wood comes in as Moreau's ex-husband things pick up a bit. But, Anna Headey as the bride is way too winsome and enigmatic and distant. The result is that we are annoyed by her total lack of backbone and will in handling the fact that she is engaged to a man she doesn't love, and does not wish to marry. There is more to this than meets the eye, but Ms. Headey fails to even give us a glimpse of any depth at all. She remains fatalistic and a resigned victim even though none of her relatives are pressuring her to marry. The actor (Helgast?) playing her fiance, Syl, is brilliantly feckless and cloying. But, Headey gives both him and Waters precious little to play off in their scenes together. Overall, i give this 6 out of 10, certainly worth sticking with once you've started since the second half is much better than the first. Also, in fairness, it probably seemed even more remote to me, as a Yank, because of many cultural references with which I was unfamiliar. I would imagine that people from Croydon would find much more to revel in than I did, particularly if they ever lived, or had any relatives who ever lived, in Egypt.

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• Slow, but worth it

  violetta14852014-09-12

  This movie requires some patience. We can see that Margaret is torn between the heat and sensuality of Egypt and the chilly convention of England, but what is causing her listless progress towards a wedding with someone she clearly does not love? Is it the result of religious guilt over her own repressed desires? Is she on the rebound from an implied failed romance in the past? Or is it something more serious? During the film, she grows increasingly reluctant to marry her rather repellent fiancé. But if she doesn't marry him, what should she do instead? Eventually, our questions are answered--and so are Margaret's.

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• Bogged down by unnecessary flashbacks.

  khunkrumark2017-05-08

  Mousy Margaret and Foppish Syl are getting married. The big day is closing in and the wedding has to be sabotaged... but how and by whom? Margaret (Lena Headly) has been talked into a marriage with a silly boy she met abroad but really she wants to be a nun. But the bride-to-be is so sullen and insipid that it's difficult to generate any sympathy for the situation she has walked into. David Threlfal, as the beau, looks and acts like Eric Idle, nudge nudge, wink wink, know what I mean? He plays an over-the-top momma's boy who really has no idea what's going on around him. Despite the thespian firepower roped into this 1993 BBC teleplay, it struggles to gain any kind of momentum. The days before the wedding are dragged out and interspersed with half-imagined flashbacks to a fantasy life in Egypt. (I think so, anyway... it's difficult to be sure what's real and what isn't.) If you cut out all these unneeded dreamy sequences, then maybe you have a pretty good one- hour program. But there are some bright spots... Jeanne Moreau is perfectly cast as the worldly and free spirited 'Lili' who drinks too much and thinks everyone else should too. She plays the biggest part in this drama, including the punchline. Thankfully, the normally annoying Julie Walters has been reigned in and fits well as the mother of the bride who is pushing for the wedding to go ahead. Joan Plowright looks unchallenged in her role as the groom's mother. Maggie Steed plays my favorite character, although her part as the wise and helpful family retainer is small. You can imagine her muttering "It's really none of my business!" as she dusts off the family china, her eyes rolling up to the ceiling! Brilliant stuff! Other names and faces are packed into the running time including an unrecognizable Roger Lloyd Pack who (in my opinion) is one of our greatest and under-respected British acting gems.) A 20-year-old, Bermuda-born, Lena Headly looks scrumptious as the lead but isn't really given anything to do except look distant and enigmatic! Pretty good fun if you fast-forward through the flashbacks!

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